The blank canvas scare
Do blank canvases scare you more than ghosts and things that go bump in the night?
Me too. Especially when I don’t really know what I want to express.
Does a blank canvas scare you?!
Here are some activities that help me get over the fear…
Chose a colour palette – gets you thinking about the possibilities and ideas if nothing else
Gesso the canvas – gets you moving
Take some colours from the palette and just make random marks everywhere. I’ve listened to podcast interviews before where the artist lets their kid make some marks on the blank canvas – then there is something made with love to start off your painting!
Remember, it doesn’t matter what you put down on the first layer – anything to get you started and responding to the canvas. Disclaimer: probably not the best idea for watercolour artists
You could use the new canvas to wipe off excess paint off your brushes! As you work on other pieces, just daub the excess paint from your brushes on to it. You’re creating a rich base layer of beautiful colours and getting rid of that blank canvas fear.
If you continuously have stage fright when faced with blank canvas, then maybe it’s time for a deep dive on why you are creating or, maybe you need to change tact for a while – pull out the sketchbook and schedule in some play time to your creative practice. Inject some fun in your art routine so you have permission to play and see what happens. It’s so import as creatives to get time to play and just enjoy the medium we are using and try out new things. Working in sketchbooks takes some of that pressure off.
If you need some other help, check out my post on Why I love bad art.