Why The Pressure to Make Good Art is Holding You Back
If you’ve ever stared at a blank page and felt your whole body tense up because you didn’t want to “mess it up,” you’re not alone. So many creatives, especially those returning to art after a long break, get stuck before they even begin. Not because they have no ideas, but because they worry the result won’t be good enough.
Maybe you’ve felt that, too. Maybe you’ve avoided making art because it might look messy, chaotic, cringe, or plain “bad”. Perhaps a part of you believes that if you can’t make something good or beautiful, then you shouldn’t make anything at all.
But what if the creative block you’re facing has nothing to do with inspiration and everything to do with wanting to be impressive? What if you could just be more honest and human?
In this post, we’re exploring how the pressure to make “good art” keeps you disconnected from your creativity, your self-expression, and the joy that originally called you to art in the first place.
If you’ve been craving a more spacious, playful, and liberating relationship with your art (one that doesn’t hinge on perfection or public approval) this post is for you.
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The Pressure to Make Good Art
I want to talk about this topic because this is a pattern I see in so many people whether they consider themselves creative or not.
This belief is that if they can’t make something good or pretty then they shouldn’t make anything at all. They shouldn’t attempt anything creative because they aren’t good enough.
This also shows up when introducing clients to expressive art making, where the purpose isn’t to create something pretty or polished, but learning to give voice to your inner world through color, line, texture, and shape.
Yet, people struggle and freeze. They hesitate. They judge themselves before their pen even hits the page.
Somewhere along the way, we were taught that art only matters if it’s impressive, easily understood, or worthy of praise. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself:
What new experiences could open up if you allowed yourself to create art that wasn’t polished or perfect?
Who might you become creatively if you stopped trying to make something beautiful and just focused on expressing what’s true for you?
Good Art Isn’t The Only Art That Matters
Contrary to what we have been led to believe, focusing on only making pretty, recognizable, and acceptable art can limit what creativity can do for us.
This pressure comes from living in a society that prioritizes external validation, commercial value and digestible aesthetics made for mass consumption. And, sure, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to improve your skills or making beautiful art, those desires are valid.
But not everything in life needs to be optimized or measured in terms of financial success.
Sometimes the most valuable creative experiences happen when:
art breaks the rules
the piece is unfinished
the image is messy, raw, or abstract
the process matters more than the result
And when we are reminded that we don’t have to sell it, post it, explain it, or turn it into something “useful.” It can exist simply because you need to express something.
And, this is where I see clients struggle the most, they resist creating because they believe art only has worth if it’s good, understandable, and impressive. They think they're going to be judged based on their performance as if we are in a competition or something, when this isn’t the case.
These beliefs keep people from ever experiencing the freedom and self-connection that happens when art is allowed to be less than perfect and human.
Because when you’re focused on how others may perceive your work, it becomes harder to be present, curious, and playful. But that’s exactly where creativity supports healing the most, it’s in the process, not in a performance.
Discomfort & Self-Judgements Are Your Teachers
When we make art that doesn’t meet our own standards it can feel uncomfortable and frustrating. But these uncomfortable emotions often reveal the deeper layers of our own self-talk.
When we say things like:
“This looks stupid.”
“I’m not talented enough.”
“I should know how to do this by now.”
We are judging ourselves. We are vocalizing ideas, judgements, and expectations that we have internalized in our subconscious mind that likely have gone unquestioned and are not even our own.
And, if you’re like me and most other people on the self-discovery and healing journey, we naturally tend to lean towards the comforting and flattering parts of self-development. This is normal since most of us want to feel safe and don’t want to have to leave our comfort zone.
But avoiding the challenging, ugly, and raw parts of ourselves is rarely where the deep healing and growth happens.
Imperfect art invites you to notice:
the fears you carry about being seen
the pressure you place on yourself to perform
the expectations you’ve absorbed about worth and value
This kind of information doesn’t always surface to the top through logic alone. Imperfect art and creative exploration reveal truths that we can’t always access through thinking alone.
And, we need both the light and the shadow sides of who you are, to have a place in your creative practice. A soft place to land.
Letting Go of The Rules Sets Your Creativity Free
Another way that the pressure to make good art holds you back is by: weakening your creative self-trust.
You can often see this when people cling to tutorials, templates, and how-to guides not because they aren’t capable of more, but because open-ended creativity feels risky.
They likely think to themselves:
“What if I mess up?”
“What if it’s not good enough?”
Structured creativity has its time and place, especially when you’re just starting out or reconnecting with your creativity. But if you never allow yourself to explore outside of these boundaries, they become cages. Plus, you might never discover the most exciting and authentic parts of your creativity if you’re always keeping it safe.
This is why making bad, imperfect, and unpredictable art matters, because:
It breaks the rules.
It brings you back to yourself.
It makes things a lot more fun.
This is when you’re finally starting to create from a genuine place within yourself. You start to ask bigger questions and push the boundaries of what is expected of you.
Eventually, something shifts and you start realizing that your most honest art isn’t always pretty. Your boldest ideas don’t come from playing it safe. And, that your most liberating creative moments come from letting go.
Take It to Your Journal
So, today we have talked about:
Why good art isn’t the only type of art that matters
Why discomfort & self-judgements are your greatest teachers
And, why breaking the rules can set you free creatively
Now, I want to give you a couple of reflection questions you can take to your journal or voice notes, for further exploration:
What do I fear will happen if my art isn’t “good”?
What might become available to me creatively, if I didn’t have to aim for “good art” at all?
Feel free to DM on Instagram if you want to share your experience or what comes up for you. I always love hearing from you.
Key Takeaway
Your worth is not measured by the beauty or success of what you create.
Making imperfect, messy, “bad” art isn’t a setback, it’s a necessary and powerful part of your growth, both creatively and personally.
When you stop trying to make good art, you make space for honest, surprising, and healing art. Art that does something for you.
So please, don’t stop making bad art. It might just be the most important art you ever make!
Renata is a creativity coach empowering neurodivergent and multi-passionate women of color, to use creativity as a tool for self-discovery and healing, so they can let go of feeling inadequate and insecure and start experiencing more confidence and self-acceptance. She’s currently offering a free copy of her therapeutic art making workbook when you sign up for her email list. Sign up here to get your free copy.
