In my previous blog, I talked about How to Overcome the Fear of the Blank Canvas as a hurdle at the start of a painting. This time, I’ll write about another challenge I encounter repeatedly: what to paint. This is essentially a continuation of the previous blog. They are related, but they have different practices. Here too, I’ll eventually give tips that help me overcome this hurdle, and I'll share a little bit about my process in a video. 

The challenge of what to paint, like the blank canvas challenge, is a psychological one. The mind interferes with our ability to take action and start painting. But this isn't something exclusive to painters. It’s a challenge that can be found in almost every venture in our lives. This time, I’ll compare it to Tinder! Yes. 

What exactly is this challenge? 

It can be divided into two parts:

• The feeling of emptiness: nothing worth considering comes to mind. I have no idea. And for the dating issue- There are no guys for me.
• False thoughts: I don’t have good ideas. I want to paint something meaningful that will turn out great. Or, for the dating issue - There are no guys worth dating, they’re all the same. I want to date someone who suits me and with whom I have a chance of success.

So, let's try to understand it better

finding the subject to paint and feeling that the subject is worthy of painting. It’s hard to separate the two, but the first can be likened to a flood of a million images passing before my eyes without any catching my attention. The second is when something does catch my eye, but I dismiss it for various reasons.

Hey, this is quite similar to dating! It’s a bit like Tinder – "no guys to date" comes along with "there are a million guys and none catch my eye." Obviously, there are options, and maybe because there are so many, I experience both a flood and a simultaneous emptiness and lack of meaning.

So how do we deal with this? Here too, we’ll divide the tips into two parts:

1. Be Open to What’s Around Us

What does this mean? A personal inspiration bank! I use my phone and have an album called "Painting Ideas." I put in every photo I’ve taken that has something interesting or appealing to me. Some photos are from 2016, and some are from yesterday. It’s a place I can always return to; it’s accessible, and most importantly, I have images! Inspiration for painting, in my opinion, can’t be amorphous. Ideas may run through my head, but they are more likely to disappear. Because painting is a tangible material, the inspiration for it should also consist of the most tangible parts possible. It doesn’t have to be a frame I will copy exactly – that’s not my point at all.

How does this relate to dating? The idea is to be open, to notice what’s happening around us, because inspiration lies in our daily life and doesn’t have to be far away and amorphous. Just like the next partner, I don’t need to have an ideal image in my head because it probably won’t lead me anywhere.

It’s important to note that the inspiration bank should be made up of things I’ve photographed myself, not screenshots of things I’ve seen. Also, in my opinion, it’s best to stick to real-life images as much as possible. Don’t take inspiration from a photo of an illustration of a chair, but a photo of a chair. There’s an impact on the image being as close to reality as possible, but that’s just my personal opinion. I believe the idea is that reality can be more intriguing and interesting than any interpretation created, and it also leaves more authenticity in finding my interpretation, rather than copying someone else’s.

2. Say Yes and Try

Not to every idea! Not to every guy! But we should approach painting, like dating, with some openness and an understanding that it might not work out between us. It’s disappointing, I know. Nothing disappoints me more than painting something and not liking the result, or not being able to get into the painting because something wasn’t right for me. It’s okay. It’s an experience; it’s a journey. I believe that next time I’ll be more precise about my needs, just like in relationships.

I mean that alongside openness, there needs to be precision. Both in choosing the painting subject and in choosing my date, there needs to be compatibility. It could be an excellent painting subject, but for the way I paint, my material, the size of the canvas I chose, and of course where my interest lies today, it might not fit. And that’s okay. Another painter might find it perfect. For me, at least for now, it’s not the direction.

Dear readers! I’ll share one more small, rare case where I had an idea, managed to pull it off, and it turned out cute (at least that’s what I think today, but who knows!)

Here’s the video, which can also be found on my Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube channel.