Fear is not my friend…

So this is my first blog post! And now that I’m sitting down to write it, I’m suddenly struck dumb. What can I say that hasn’t already been said before? Who on earth will be interested in reading it? Will I be able to keep it up? The image above is a card that my husband bought me and there have been a number of times that I have been tempted to sign it and throw in the towel.

Fear of failure and ridicule can be a huge barrier to creating authentic art as well as other things in life. I know because my fears have made a prisoner of me for the last ten years. I would literally do anything rather than just go into the studio and paint. Because if I didn’t paint then I couldn’t fail, but if I didn’t paint I felt unhappy and irritated with myself, it was a viscous cycle that I was desperate to break out of. So earlier this year I signed up to an intensive art course called the Creative Visionary Program with Nicholas Wilton. One of the main reasons I took the program was that it promised to show a process of making art that was fun and sustainable. I was pretty sceptical but as I was struggling so much on my own I decided to give it a go.

Now some four months later I am delighted to tell you that it worked. My attitude to creating art has completely changed. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t overnight, but it has been amazing. I have largely overcome the angst and fear of making art. I look forward to going into the studio even if it is only for a short time. It isn’t that the fear has completely gone away, it is still with me but I’m able to acknowledge it and make art anyway. Marking art makes me happy and I think that the art I’m making is better than ever.

So even if you’re terrified, make something, move your hands and create, you will feel so much better for it. In my next post I’ll tell you a bit more about how I work and how it might help you be more creative.

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