Ahhhh Lori, I feel your pain and know it. I have felt that resistance (still do from time to time) and asked exactly that question: If painting and expressing myself in art is my soul’s yearning, why don’t I just get on with it? Why do I resist?? And truly, I think part of it is this feeling we have about the outcome. We fear that it will look like rubbish, that it will then be a waste of time and materials and why bother. So here’s a couple of ideas for you.

First, to get you going, I want you to do this as you sit on the couch. Grab a pencil (or pen) and a sketchpad. Then do a blind contour of your hand. A blind contour is when you look at the subject you’re drawing (your hand) but NOT the paper! Make sure you CANNOT see the paper and what’s being drawn on it. This is SUPER important. Because you’re drawing in this manner, you know the drawing won’t look like a perfect representation of the subject. I mean, how can it?? Don’t be tempted to look at the paper otherwise your judgement side will start to kick in. Don’t give it that chance! Instead, sink deeply into observing your hand. Take time – there’s no rush. Enjoy the sensation of looking deeply. Draw the contour of your hand, the bumps, the crinkles, the wrinkles, the spots, the scars, the rings, whatever you see. And know that all those things are NOT going to end up in the right place. But ohhhh what a delight of a drawing you’ll have!! You can do a blind contour of anything in front of you – a vase of flowers for instance…or your feet as you lie on the couch…or a cup of tea.

Second, when you are ready to pick up some pastels, choose a pastel painting that’s been done on sanded paper that you really don’t want to keep. Take it outside and brush it off (you can use an old cheap brush for this). Then take it inside and with white or black tape (preferably artist tape but just use drafting tape or electric tape if that’s all you have) and depending on the size of the paper, divide into four or six blocks. Then just enjoy making marks over the whole piece. Don’t worry about what anything looks like. Pick colours you love, brands you love. Choose a few colours in different values. Vary the pressure, vary application – side of pastel or linear. Just have fun! When you feel “done,” peel off the tape and see what each block looks like. Then take each block and without regard to outcome, work on it. See what’s suggested there and just PLAY and push a bit further. Don’t judge. Put on music that brings you joy and just relax and laugh. It’s just paper and pastels!

The main thing is to get you back to the joy of creating, the joy of the lusciousness of using soft pastels. The longer we stay away from creating, the harder it is to restart, and the more our soul cries. So grab that pencil and paper and just DO. I KNOW you will feel better for doing something because action really is the antidote!

Thanks so much Nancy! (The blog Nancy is referring to is called: Pastel To Paper – That Is What’s Important!)
Thanks for the compliment about my voice. I’d like to do more audio and that’s given me a bit of a push – thank you!

Self-doubt can keep us all back from exploring and expressing ourselves fully. And no, what you say doesn’t sound strange, it sounds very familiar!
One thing I sometimes do to get working is when I buy new pastels or paper, I give myself a timeframe – a generous one so I have no excuses! – to use them. And I tell Cam, my husband, that if I don’t use them up by the specified date, he can give it away to an artist who will use them. And I write the date on the calendar. This works well!! Why spend money on tools when you aren’t going to use them?
The other thing is, work and don’t show anyone if that’s going to prevent you from putting pastel to paper.

Love those quotes!!

So go now and DO!!!!

It’s about letting go isn’t it? About surrendering. Thanks for sharing Eno’s advice Aidan!

Glad you enjoyed it Debbie. 50 plus years old and still relevant!

Hey Sandi – thanks so much!! Great group of people there for sure!