Since I am old enough to hold a pen, I am drawing, doodling and creating.

Since I am old enough to hold a pen, I am also stressing about those drawings, doodles and creations being as perfect as possible.

Just very recently I discovered that this type of mindset is holding me back a lot of the time. I don’t finish projects, because nothing is ever good enough. So even though there is value in striving for great results and aiming high, my perfectionism has become toxic.

I noticed this through coloring. Adult coloring pages and books have become very popular over the last few years. They promise to be an incredibly cozy and relaxing activity. But then you start comparing your pages with creators on social media who turn their pages into the most beautiful little mixed media masterpieces. And suddenly you feel the pressure: Can I just fill the blank spaces with whatever color I feel like in that moment? Or do I have to create color palettes first, think of patterns and highlights to add, find the right ways to shade and so on and so on… And even though I tried to not compare too much, I noticed that coloring was less and less relaxing and more and more stressful. Also, I was not alone: Many social media coments were talking about the same phenomenon.

That’s when I decided to intentionally create coloring pages, that invite you to be imperfect. That’s when I actively turned my back to realism and tried to create little art pieces with imperfect line styles. And that’s when I thought, maybe others could enjoy this as well, so let’s build a website, share and see what happens!

So thank you for being here, reading this big fat paragraph and checking out my page! I appreciate it immensely! <3 Hopefully you find some inspiration.

Johanna McCT