How to overcome the fear of the blank page when creating
At the beginning of my first art class in high school, the teacher said if we put in the effort we would get an A, no matter what the art looked like. He lied. My straight-A student heart was crushed when I got a B. The only B in my entire high school career—yes, I’m a first-born. My confidence tanked. Instead of embracing my unique brand of creating, I stashed it away and only made things that had instructions. Until I discovered painting again.
I came across a woman on Instagram randomly making marks on her canvas with black paint. She wasn’t thinking, she was just going for it. It piqued the interest of the tiny artist inside of me and I tried it too.
At that moment, I realized I didn’t have to listen to the voices that said I wasn’t good enough and I stopped telling myself I didn’t have enough time.
Can you relate? I bet you can because it’s easier to avoid something instead of trying. I avoided painting for 20 years.
I want more for you, so I want to make it as easy as possible for you to get past the fear of the blank page using mark-making.
Let’s learn how to find items to use to make marks, what supplies you need, and what to do with all of the marks you make.
Where to find unique mark-making items
Did you know there’s a bottomless bucket of possibility when it comes to making marks?
Look around you right now. As I look around my space I see wildflowers my daughter picked for me, a pencil, a paper towel, legos, and a piece of foil. All of these items have the potential to make interesting marks.
What else can you use? Dive into the possibilities waiting to be found in your home and backyard.
Collect anything that looks interesting. Outside gather leaves, pinecones, sticks, acorns, rocks, bark, grass, and flowers. Inside grab bubble wrap, corrugated cardboard, toilet paper rolls, plastic utensils, plastic wrap, and those things you see around you.
To make it simple, I want you to pick three items to start with.
The Three Items You Need for Mark-Making
Mark-making is a no-sweat way to start a daily creative practice because you only need three supplies. Black paint or ink, paper, and your mark-making objects. That’s it!
Start with black paint to eliminate analysis paralysis when it comes to color. It’s another way to prevent yourself from starting and I don’t want that for you.
The key to mark-making is exploration. Ditch the idea that you need to create a finished piece of art. Making marks isn’t about that. It’s all about discovering what you love. If you start drawing lines with sticks and you don’t like it, don’t continue it. If you use bubble wrap and love how it looks and feels, keep doing it. Start to notice which things are interesting to you and which ones are boring. Write a list to keep track.
Creating art is a process of self-discovery. You get to decide what you love and what you don’t. And you only have to continue doing what lights you up. There’s no other area of life where you get to follow your joy alone—no responsibilities, have to’s, or need to’s.
Top Things to Do with Your Mark-Making Papers
You have all of these papers with unique marks on them, but now what? With tons of different ways to use what you made, you’ve just scratched the surface of possibility. Here are a few options to get you started:
Make cards. Cut the paper apart and glue it onto cardstock.
Create an art journal background. Take an old book or new journal and start pasting in your papers.
Piece together different marks in a collage.
Make patterns in Adobe Illustrator.
Start a new painting by activating the canvas in this way.
One final bonus tip
Put all of your supplies in one place. It doesn’t matter whether you store them in a basket, a drawer, or a box. What matters is that they are easy to get to and always ready for you to create beautiful things.
Now that you’ve got the hang of mark-making, I bet you’re chomping at the bit to get started, right? You’ve learned how to find items for mark-making, what supplies you need, and what to do with all of those marks. It’s time to start a creative practice that you love.
Here’s to no excuses!
I’ve created a list of mark-making prompts to get you going for the next month.