May 14th 2025

Shoutout to Boris Baldinger for this amazing reference! The colors in this photo really caught my attention so I needed to draw this. I thought that this would be easy to draw because of the simple background, but boy I was wrong haha… The mountain just had a lot of detail where I struggled to line things up. It was tough all in all, but I still made it through in the end! It came out alright so I’m happy about it :) Just don’t look too closely haha ;P But this photo taught me a lot about textures as you can see. The mountain just had a lot of texture going all around so I had to be mindful of my brush strokes. The clouds were also a challenge too, but it came out dreamy and floaty. I just really love the color of this sunset. It just looks… surreal…. and I can’t imagine being there to witness it.

Keep in mind though, I’m still learning along the way so I’m still new to this. I love drawing landscapes which is why I’m doing this in the first place and I’m loving it!!! I’m just taking you all along on my journey :) I just really struggled trying to make it perfect, but as long as I got it really close to the original photo, it still came out alright :) Thank you Boris for this amazing reference once again! :)

Speaking of perfection… when I was drawing this, it made me really think about what it means to be perfect. More specifically… what is perfection without the imperfection? What truly is perfection? What standards are we using to determine what is perfect? Because all of it is subjective… It’s always going to change and be different for everyone. But the definition of perfection wouldn’t exist if imperfection didn't exist. You can’t have one thing without the other… Even if I were to draw it perfectly as the original photo, what value would that bring? It would be perfect in the sense of the art skill, but what impact would that make?

When I was drawing this, my lines were not perfect. The shading wasn’t perfect, nor the colors. I only tried my best to match the original photo. In the end, they weren’t exactly the same as the original photo, but as long as I got it really close to it, it came out just fine. And honestly… that’s all that matters… As long as we try our best in a tough situation, we are always one step closer to our goals. Sometimes… all we have to do is just get it close enough and it will still work out in the end. At least, you are making progress in the right direction.

But when you strive to be perfect, you create a strict standard for yourself. You need it to be perfect or else it won’t work out. But that’s not true… you can get it close enough and it will still work out in the end. I’m not saying standards are bad. They are actually needed to help push you. But they are not there to make things perfect. It is only bad when you expect to make no mistakes during the process that ends up delaying you or even preventing you from finishing. We need to give ourselves the self compassion that it is okay to make mistakes during the process. It is okay to not expect everything to be perfect along the way so we can make progress little by little. In the end, we can only try our best to achieve what we set out to do in the first place and that’s all that really matters.

Even as I am writing this, I am also struggling trying to convey the message that I want to give to you. But as long as I don’t give up and try my best each time, I will always be one step closer to it. After all, I’m not striving for perfection, I’m only striving for self acceptance of the work that I am proud of so I can happily share it with you :)

But those flaws are what makes you… who you are. It is in your character that makes it special and gives it meaning. It is in the imperfections that makes this wallpaper truly different from the original photo. I’m not saying the original photo isn’t beautiful or that my wallpaper is better. I’m saying that… there shouldn’t be a comparison because they are simply different and beautiful in their own ways.

I wasn’t intentionally creating these imperfections as I was drawing them along the way. I just created them in the moment where I just did my best to recreate what I’ve seen. It is in my own expression that made the difference. The imperfections reveal my character throughout the composition. I mean… it does look very similar to the original photo, but if you were to look at it very closely, side to side, they are different. But that’s the whole point of art where we are able to express how we view things from our own perspectives and create new things from it. It’s a way to bring new and different ideas into our current reality and excite new possibilities. After all… what is art without the impact?

If I were to copy the original photo perfectly, I basically did nothing in terms of the final product. It would just look like a cropped version of the original photo. In the end… did I really make a difference? Did I really do anything? No… not really… That is why it’s perfect to be imperfect because by simply being you…. you naturally create something different.

This is true for all of us. We are all beautiful in our own ways :) We all have something unique to contribute to the whole. My way can’t match up with yours because yours is different. The same way yours can’t match up with mine because mine is different. But that doesn’t mean your way or my way is bad. It’s just simply different. There is no comparison. Being different doesn’t mean it’s bad or even wrong. It just means that you are unique in your own way and there’s nothing wrong with that! In fact, you are special because no one is like you! No one can really do it like you, especially the way that you do it because only you can do it and no one else!

So scratch the idea of perfection that you thought you had because it’s not what you think it is… It is an imaginary belief based on subjectivity and subjectivity is always changing. Beliefs are always changing…. we are simply at our best by naturally being who we are. That is our true power, that is your true power.

Being perfect is just authentically being who you are because you ARE already perfect the way you are. You don’t have to do anything extra because you ARE already yourself. You already rock it :) Everything that you seek about yourself is ALREADY inside of you. The tough part is looking for it and connecting with it and sometimes… all it takes is just self acceptance of yourself... Because to accept the love you have for yourself is to be naturally who you are… and that in essence… is perfection…… It is simply being perfect to be imperfect :)

Thank you so much for reading <3

I love you so much and stay safe!!!