The day the mailman delivered my Zazzle Mail I was sooooo excited to see what was inside! And there it was!... a glossy postcard of my "Pumpkins For Sale" illustration. The printing was crisp & clear, the paper was top-notch... I was thrilled with my arty mail!
That is, 'til I realized one thing!... The colors were not an exact match to my original art.
Uh-Oh!!... Enter Patti's Perfectionism!
For the next two days I plunged myself into research & study, trying my best to understand the language of sRGB & CMYK. Now, as a self-taught artist, most of what I've learned art-wise has been through research, plus LOTS of trial & error!... So at first, my quest for new art knowledge felt like another challenging adventure.
However, that feeling of adventure was soon replaced by the cross-eyed, head-throbbing feeling of bumping my head against something I just couldn't figure out or change, no matter how hard I tried!
Well, to make a very loooooong story short... I decided to "back away from the edge" of my "unreconcilable problem" & get a fresh perspective. I placed the postcard on a tiny easel & took this picture in my sunny kitchen... and then I walked away.
The next day, I felt like the Lord had given me a whole new outlook on my problem...
I realized (once again!) that some things are just plain out of my control. The printing process Zazzle uses allows me to offer my artwork on products in a print-on-demand way. Other printing methods might allow more exact color matching... but the process would be much slower & the products would need to be purchased in bulk at a higher cost.
... Basically, that just wouldn't work for me.
And as I looked with fresh eyes at the photo I'd taken the day before... and at the postcard still propped up on its' easel... I realized it was OK. I could like this version of my artwork just the way it was.
Perfectionists really don't like to settle for less than perfect... But today I'm feeling thankful for learning one more lesson on the road toward embracing "good enough."
2 comments:
yeah, i hear ya on the perfectionism. being retired has made me realize that my non-perfect state is OK and creative at times.
your card is adorable. but you already know i like ALL you do.
hope you are well.
hugs :)
Hey there, Stef! :)
I think I'm getting a little bit wiser as I get older!... Some things just aren't worth stressing about! I guess I'll figure that out eventually! ;)
Thanks for your sweet comment on my art! :)
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