Inspiration Fridays! Why wouldn’t you create?
Why wouldn’t you create?
When everything falls into place and you just know that you’ve nailed it, there’s still one obstacle left: learning to trust that you’re right.
“Fears about artmaking fall into two families: fears about yourself, and fears about your reception by others.” – David Bayles and Ted Orland (Art & Fear)
When I started really digging into my art, the only thing I had was time. When I wasn’t delivering bagels, waiting tables, or serving espresso, I was painting. There was time to paint, and draw, and explore, and I couldn’t afford to do much else, so it made it easy to focus on my craft.
My only worry back then was the cost of materials, and I realized quickly that when I focused on the cost, I would freeze up. I felt like there needed to be a masterpiece on every canvas to justify the expense. And in order to grow and risk, that just wasn’t going to happen.
I switched gears and materials, I painted on cardboard and worked out of sketchbooks. When I gave up on the masterpieces, the work got better.
Use whatever you have, and begin.
I’ve conquered my fear of good materials, and maybe you have too. But there are other fears lurking out there. Our time is precious. This can leave us frozen, afraid to even start. What if the work isn’t good enough? What if our time is wasted? What will people think? What if the work never gets finished?
All of these nagging fears fall away when we begin. When we are actually painting instead of thinking about painting, the work creates itself. Some will be good and some will be bad, but it will get done, and it will be worth it.