A blank canvas. There’s something really off-putting about it. There’s no point of reference, it’s hard to start, almost like a threshold I’m not sure I should cross.

A lot of the time I have this feeling that I should know what I’m going to paint before I paint it. Like what colors I’ll use, the size, and the subject. I’m pretty indecisive so this is a large roadblock for me to go through before I even START to paint. I’ve been coming across this scenario quite often lately, which is really frustrating when all I want to do is paint. I’m held back by all the decisions that are to be made when I just have a seed of an idea and I need to make it grow.

Ok let’s see if I can turn this into a metaphor to make more sense…

I have a seed (the glimmer of an idea)

and it needs to be planted (going into the studio and laying down some paint).

In order for the seed to grow it needs to be nourished by the sun and water (hours at work, pushing that pigment!).

Eventually something of a flower starts to take shape (the painting now has a direction).

And with a little love and keeping the weeds away (as in weeding out the bad ideas, pun intended)…

Eventually a flower is brought into fruition (the final painting).

And then you cut the flower, put it in a vase, look at it, maybe give it to a friend, where eventually it dies and you plant some more seeds. But that’s a topic for a different day.

Anyways the point I’m trying to make is that a lot of the time I feel like my ideas aren’t worth being brought to life because I don’t know how the end result will look. And I NEVER know how a finished piece is going to look. This means getting through the initial uncertainty of what or how I should paint makes getting started the most difficult part of the process for me.

But the sun and water don’t discriminate against any seed. If you nourish your ideas, they will grow. Maybe into a flower. Maybe into a weed. Or a potato. Who knows?!

The point is… don’t you want to see what’s inside that seed?