How to Paint Bold and Free Without Worrying About Perfection

The secret to painting boldly isn’t getting it perfect the first time—it’s embracing a two-step process that keeps you free. Make your bold move first without overthinking, then come back and adjust. This approach lets you stay wild and authentic in your mark-making while still achieving the results you’re after. When you trust that you can refine later, you stop getting stuck in safe territory and start creating with the fearless energy your art needs to come alive. Read or watch today’s Sunday BLOOM below to learn more.

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You know that feeling when you’re painting and you want to make a bold move, but you’re worried it won’t be perfect?

So you hesitate. You overthink it. You try to get it exactly right the first time.

And then… nothing happens. You stay stuck in safe, careful territory.

I was in my studio this morning looking at this painting I worked on last night. I made this huge, bold yellow mark that felt so good in the moment. But now, looking at it fresh, I can see there’s a problem.

The old me would have been frustrated. “Why didn’t I get it right the first time?”

But over the years, I’ve found a way to stay completely free when you’re making bold moves, even when you know they might not be perfect.

It’s changed everything about how efficiently I work and the results I get.

 

The Challenge We All Face

One of the biggest challenges when painting boldly—when painting free—is that it’s very difficult to get it right the first time. Or get it perfectly right.

And we have to let go of that in order to be free.

Here’s what happened with that yellow mark I mentioned. I had all kinds of great things happening in this painting, but it was feeling too fussy. I wanted to put this bigger, huge mark on there. In the speed of doing that—not worrying about getting it perfect—I just did it.

And it felt good.

But here’s the thing: when you do that, you don’t get to have it done perfectly. It might not be the exact right color. It might not land exactly where you intended.

And that’s okay.

 

The Two-Step Process That Changes Everything

What I’ve discovered is this: you can be wild in doing it, and still get it just perfect. But it happens in two steps, not one.

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Make the Bold Move Let go of the thinking. Be free. Make that mark, pour that color, take that risk. Don’t worry about getting it exactly right—just get it down with energy and authenticity.

Step 2: Adjust and Fine-Tune Once it’s there, you can come in and adjust things. You can glaze back colors, shift saturation, refine relationships. You have information now to work with.

In my painting, that bold yellow mark was competing with another saturated area at the top. They were both fighting for the “front row” of attention, taking away from each other. So I came in with a glaze to kill some of that yellow’s intensity, adjusting the saturation in relationship to the rest of the painting.

The result? It still feels fresh—no part of me was fussing with it. But I’ve adjusted it. I’ve fine-tuned it.

 

Why This Approach Works

There’s no way I could have mixed that perfect color on the first go. But by working in two steps—bold move first, then adjustment—I can achieve what I’m after while staying free.

This is the secret: staying free knowing that you can adjust things later.

When you embrace this approach, you’ll move along much more efficiently and get better results. You’re not paralyzed by the need for perfection. You’re not stuck in safe territory.

You’re free to be bold because you know you can always refine.

 

The Deeper Truth

This isn’t just about painting technique—it’s about how we approach life itself.

We get so worried about having everything figured out perfectly before we act. We want the perfect plan, the perfect timing, the perfect clarity. But that kind of thinking keeps us stuck.

What if we could approach our biggest decisions the same way? Make the bold move first, knowing we can adjust as we go. Trust that we’ll figure it out along the way.

The art teaches us that perfection isn’t the goal—authenticity is. And authenticity requires the courage to act before we have it all figured out.

 

Your Turn

Here’s what I want to know: Do you struggle with wanting to get things perfect the first time? How do you handle bold moves in your art?

More importantly: What bold move have you been avoiding because you’re worried it won’t be perfect?

Maybe it’s time to make that mark. Put down that color. Take that risk.

Stay free knowing you can adjust things later.

 

Stay fearless out there.

—Nicholas