Back when I was in school, I always felt very anxious when faced with a huge piece of white paper and told to draw something. That was then and this is now.
Now, I am an artist, muralist and art tutor and I have taught myself that starting a piece of artwork is very much like taking on any project. It requires some back ground knowledge and skill, but the most important thing that you need is courage. You need to boldly go into it with fear, but ACTION, knowing that it may be your best or worse piece, but whatever the outcome, it doesn’t really matter as its all about getting you used to facing something that you thought you couldn’t accomplish!
After completing my paint a day challenge that I set myself where I painted a painting every day for a year, starting a painting soon became my friend ;). I would look at the paper and just begin. It was always the idea of starting that would cause so much stress in my mind, but once I was into it, I was on a roll!
Practise makes perfect which has been said many times before, but that is because it is so true! If I had not painted a painting a day or set up my YouTube drawing channel, I would not be so accurate and fast as an artist at what I produce now when I paint murals on walls and get huge commissions.
When I get in front of the camera and start my drawing on my YouTube channel, I always feel nervous at the start as the idea of it going wrong is very disheartening as I know I will judge myself quite harshly and sometimes even think I cant draw anymore, but I think its important to have my channel to show people that it is not edited and what goes up is whats happening in real life. I make mistakes and drop pencils etc, but its okay as we are human and its all part of having fun with trying new things out!
I think much like life is your canvas quote, a canvas is quite symbolic of how you feel in your life at the moment and how you approach obstacles. If you kept meaning to start that painting and still have not, where else are you doing that in other areas of your life where you keep meaning to start something and don’t. Have you started the painting but it is still not finished. Where in your life is that showing up for you also?
I think once you walk into the fear of starting something without judgement you never really look back and you never regret it as the satisfaction of trying and having taken action outweighs the worry of what someone or more to the point, yourself might think of the finished result.
Give it a go and start a painting today! If not a painting, a project you have been meaning to begin!
Now is the only time we have.
Emmylou xx