Learning to letter and stripe: The beautiful struggle

There is nothing more discouraging than the struggles of a beginner. Nothing more frustrating than the fact that those struggles will always be present in one form or another. They never go away. Having spoken to seasoned veterans of lettering and pinstriping, I believe we just have to accept the fact that some form of mental anguish will always be present. It’s human nature.

In the beginning, we pick up a brush and marvel at how shaky our lines are, how imprecise the strokes and corners. If we actually start getting good in terms of technique, other fears settle in: Will I be creative enough? Will I just keep rehashing the same old designs?

And then 30 or 40 years later, or so I’ve heard (since that’s not my case), we can paint with our eyes closed, new and innovative designs flow from the brush—yet our confidence is as fragile as ever and our standards soar higher and higher. Perfectly fine work ends up wiped off or in the garbage—a victim of our own minds.