Fear of the Blank Canvas
Imagine a little child sitting on the floor, surrounded by all sorts of markers and blank papers, asking around, "What should I paint?" This is a vivid memory from my childhood as a young painter. Even today, it remains one of the main obstacles I face when starting a new painting.
I know many painters and other types of artists struggle with this. When it comes to writing, we use the term "writer's block." Imagine feeling the drive to create something, getting yourself settled, but then feeling like you don't really know what to do, as if you've never done it before.
Let's explore what it means to feel this lack of ambition, Before diving into the strategies I've gained over the years.
In the visual arts, there is a term called "Horror vacui," from Latin, which is, in short, the fear of emptiness. Throughout art history, you can see artists filling every blank space, cramming in more and more images to avoid the vacuum, the emptiness.
Different cultures and historical periods have had various interpretations of this. For example, you can see it in Islamic art decorations or in the paintings of Indigenous Australian artists who filled their canvases with dots. It’s also present in the works of Yayoi Kusama and many others.
Why is this so?
There are many answers, and you can find extensive information on the topic. I'll take it to my personal space, but of course, this is open to interpretation.
I think empty spaces give us an unpleasant feeling of incompleteness. What is incomplete evokes a sense of unease, and as long as the white space isn't filled, there is disharmony. In psychology, this can be linked to "annihilation anxiety," which speaks to our fear of incompleteness. Freud and Melanie Klein discuss how this anxiety drives humans to maintain the integrity of the whole.
And what does all this have to do with the blank canvas and the difficulty of dealing with it?
The emptiness is so vast when the canvas is blank that it can be approached from two directions.
First, the canvas is so empty that I feel overwhelmed by the amount of work required to fill it, leading to feelings of helplessness and incapability. I might feel despair about the long road ahead, and perhaps it’s better to give up from the start. After all, nothing I choose to paint can guarantee it will turn out perfect—a kind of performance anxiety.
Second, the blank canvas is perfect, and any mark I make could ruin its perfection. Thus, I don’t want to damage its completeness at all.
So How Can You Overcome the Blank Canvas?
Are you ready for it?
Here are the strategies I've found useful; feel free to try them out!
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Don't Start with a Blank Canvas
The simplest solution. In art, you can begin with an "imprimatura," from Italian which means the first paint layer. covering the surface with usually one color. This technique aims to create layers and depth, but I've found it's also an excellent way to tackle the start. There is something almost technical about covering the surface—filling the emptiness without much thought or frustration. It involves repetitive, quick work that doesn't strive for perfection since I am going to cover it anyway.
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Use a Used Canvas
The surface doesn't have to be new from the store. It can be an old painting I didn't like and want to paint over (yes, just like Van Gogh), or perhaps a canvas I found on the street, among other options. The surface comes with history, and maybe it was on its way to the trash anyway, so whatever I do, I can't damage its perfection since it's already imperfect. At best, I can improve it and save it from the cruel fate it was destined for.
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Play with Colors
Have fun splashing colors on the canvas—use brushes or even your hands. Don’t overthink it; play as if you're in kindergarten. Create a mess; transform the intimidating white into something approachable.
These methods may seem unconventional, but trust me—they work!