Everyone thinks their work might be better, if only they had a little more time with it. Amy Sherald, who created the celebrated official portrait of Michelle Obama, says that with “every single show I’ve had for the past three years, the paintings left my studio wet,” that as soon as they go out the door she’s “literally following them to the truck with a paintbrush like, ‘One more thing!’”
Your own work might be just as important as Sherald’s—but it will never be perfect. Perfect doesn’t exist. Nothing is ever really just right; there’s always more you can do. Too bad. It’s as good as it can be right now, and that’s probably more than good enough. You’ll make the next one better, or different, or more like yourself. Do not get hung up working on one super-project forever. For now, make something, learn something, and move on. Or you’ll be buried waist-deep in the big muddy of perfectionism.