My style of drawing has always been to strive for accuracy, realism, precision...much like rendering a photograph. I'm just compelled to keep going until it is drawn properly, shaded so it's 3-D, and so on (see my drawing which I did many years ago). However, sometimes I envy people who draw more freely, whimsically, or abstractly. Each time I intend to get outside my parameters, such as considering a contour to be anything other than 'practice loosening up,' I feel uneasy, sloppy, uncomfortable. Maybe it's my analytical brain, maybe it's the precision you can get with pencils and pens, maybe it's the limited amount of rework you can do.
Painting on the other hand...hello, freedom! If I find myself getting too persnickity, I can just grab a larger brush, or move it to my left (non-dominant) hand and create some mental discombobulation to shake things up a little. If I really screw it up, I can paint over it when it's dry. But I rather like the results when I have less control - it's kind of my subconscious taking over. I still strive to paint realistic looking subjects, but now incorporate abstract techniques to liven it up. I still look for something recognizable in abstract paintings (hey, I'm an engineer's daughter after all) but I'm getting better about that, too. It'll be interesting to see how my painting influences my drawing now.