Perfectionism is not a quest for the best.  It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves, the part that tells us that nothing we do will ever be good enough-that we should try again.  Julia Cameron, Artist's Way

google image

Being a teacher, and especially an art teacher, teaches you a lot about human behavior.  In a classroom with hundreds of students a week, I would see every learning style and emotional approach possible to a lesson.  Some people are quick, and make their best effort and then that is it for them, others are slow and methodical thinking out and puzzling along the way, and others will stare at a blank piece of paper unable to make a mark because they have failed in their mind before they had even started.  All artist and all learners have obstacles and self sabotage techniques we employ.  Some come from childhood, some due to a fear of success, and some because we just can't ever feel good enough about ourselves. Julia Cameron speaks to that in all her books.  She, herself, is a writer, but she speaks in a way that is applicable to all artists.  I highly recommend all of her books.  I have found areas that I sabotage myself that I was not even aware of, but most evident when I really looked at myself.  I can be the grand procrastinator, thinking I will get to it, and then time and time goes by and I haven't.  Read her books and you many find your own obstacles to success.  
Perfectionism is possibly one of the worst obstacles we throw in our way because it requires us to always feel we are never good enough, never acceptable unless everything is absolutely perfect.  It is the flaws, the imperfection that allow growth and make us more human.  In the Middle East kilim weavers will always have an area called an abash...it is an area that is not perfect, so we know it is real, not machine made.  It actually can make a carpet more valuable. We should all have an abash to prove to ourselves we are not robots, we are capable of growth and can accept something less that perfect.  It is in our imperfection we find our humanity and our greatness.

“Look at your work and it tells you how it is when you hold back or when you embrace. When you are lazy, your art is lazy; when you hold back, it holds back; when you hesitate, it stands there staring, hands in its pockets. But when you commit, it comes on like blazes.” by david bayles author of the book Art and Fear

by Melissa from google image

I have always found it difficult to know when to stop working on a piece of art.  I want to add more and do more.  At some point I decided I would have to go with a gut feeling when everything clicked and seemed to say "I AM DONE".  That seems to work for me, but there are times I still will ponder to add or take away...if I am not sure, I take a break and come back to it later.  But the commitment is essential, is facing and overcoming self doubt and fear of failure.  Art is a process, one must move through the learning steps and flow of ideas...if an idea changes or moves to another that is not a failure, it is merely a part of the artistic process that tells you where to go next.  Some people stop and doubt themselves at that point...quit, sure they are a failure or not a real artist and walk away. If you go to a gallery or art show you will see artists of all kinds and all levels of talent and skill.  And some people will show their work at any level, and I have come to admire that...it is because they have faith that they will grow, they will change, and their art will reach higher levels.  They are committed.  I have seen many a talented artist decide not to show, because in their mind, their work is not good enough...they are just not realizing it is a step of self destruction and self doubt.  The seeking of perfectionism is one of the most destructive of self sabotaging inner critics.  To seek perfection is to set yourself up for sure failure and paralysis.  It to set up the impossible to insure failure, then you can say to yourself.....see I am not an artist, or see I do not have enough talent...it is pure self destruction.

photo by elizabeth gordon teacher of the arts

It is like jumping off a high diving board in a ice cold pool...you just close your eyes and do it!  And amazingly you survive, and the diving board wasn't as high as you thought, and the pool wasn't so cold.  I wish you all the courage to not seek perfection, to accept yourself where you are in your journey and take that jump.  I can guarantee you will survive and you will grow as an artist and a person. That guarantee comes from 37 years of being an art teacher and watching people grow and a life time as an artist and having to learn to trust the process.