Day 9
Letting Go of Perfection
If you’ve followed my work for a while, you’ll know I’m a contemporary realist. I love detail. Precision. The calm control that comes from painting what I see as truly as I can manage. But one of the reasons I applied for this residency was because I knew I couldn’t keep working in that way — not right now.
I’ve come to Château Orquevaux with a painful hand injury — to my dominant hand, no less — and with it came a need to rethink how I paint, what I paint, and why I paint the way I do.
So I’ve shifted. Gently. Uneasily. Sometimes reluctantly.
Work in Progress
I’ve embraced a looser style, something that accommodates a different brush hold and puts less strain on my hand, arm, and shoulder. It’s a significant departure from the way I usually work and, truthfully, it has been both uncomfortable and scary. But this residency has offered me the space — and the permission — to try.
Here, tucked away in my studio, I’m free to experiment. To play. To make mistakes. And to keep them private if I want to. No one’s watching. No one is waiting for me to perform or explain. I’ve removed the pressure of needing to prove anything to anyone. It’s been one of the greatest gifts of this time.
And here’s the surprising thing: I’m secretly loving it. Loving the shift away from the relentless pursuit of perfection. Loving the immediacy, the energy, the suggestion rather than the statement.
But of course, the realist in me isn’t going down without a fight. I can see it creeping in — in the way I build my compositions, in the way I’m still obsessed with value and form. I’ve even noticed it in my reference wall: it’s filled with a mix of realist and impressionist works. It’s become my little reminder to myself: “Less of that. More of that.”
I can’t change my personality — and I don’t think I want to. But I can change the way I approach my work.
This week I’ve learned that loosening up doesn’t mean letting go of everything I value. It means letting go of control. Just a little. Enough to let the work breathe. Enough to let me breathe.
And maybe, just maybe, that’s where something new can begin.
With love from Orquevaux.
Robyn xx
