3 Ways To Overcome The Fear Of The Blank Page

Don't let the fear of a blank white page stop you from creating art!

A blank white page can be so daunting, I always have so many worries and questions going through my head when I open a new sketchbook or start a new page.

What if I waste the page?

What if I create something ugly?

What if I make a mistake?

Where do I start?

How do I start?

What if I don't like it?

What if no one likes it?

What if this one page ruins my whole sketchbook?

If I listened to all of these worries I would never start anything, let alone a sketchbook or even 1 fresh white page. And I bet you feel the same way sometimes! But it's important to remember that there is no page is ugly, it's simply just another page, a learning experience, an experiment, an exploration of curiosity. I know I know, you're probably thinking 'well that's all well and good remembering those things, but how does that help me when I have a blank page staring at me?' Ok those things are good to remember, but we need something physical to get us past that barrier, keep reading to learn my top tips!

1. Change the layout of your page...

An easy way to make the page less daunting is by changing the layout. One way to do this is by drawing different sized boxes on your page. The different sized boxes help to break up the stark whiteness of the page and allow you to just focus on one box at a time.

Once you have drawn the boxes you can start to fill them. Choose your object and then zoom in to it - pick out a detail or a pattern and do this first. Once you've done this you can fill the rest with other patterns, or you could draw the whole object and before you know it you've filled up a whole page!

It's also good to remember that finding your creative side doesn't just have to be about painting or drawing, it's about experiencing and observing the world around you. With this in mind you can always add notes to your page too - I often note down colours, interesting details and observations about my setting including the sounds I can hear around me.

2. Add layers...

To take a bit of the fear away I find it helpful to layer up my sketchbook page using things I find around my flat. This could be as simple as a rectangular block of colour or something a bit more busy and in a fun shape. I have quite a few old magazines hanging around so I tend to flick through these to find a colour or pattern that catches my eye, but you could also experiment with used envelopes, flyers, greetings cards etc.

I often find that just the action of finding the new layers takes my focus off the white page and helps to loosen me up and in a better headspace to create. When laying out your page you can keep this super simple and just do one layer, or you could layer it up and add a few different scenes or layers. 

If you enjoy this process you might find that you enjoy creating collages. They can be a really good way to loosen up your creative muscle and easily experiment with different colour combinations and composition.

3. Start with a page a writing...

Starting with a page of writing may feel a little counter intuitive, and like you’re delaying the process of actually creating art, but trust me – it works! It doesn’t have to be beautiful, or even spelt correctly – you’re not getting marked on it and no one will be reading it, but by getting your thought on paper no matter how mundane they are, it will help to make way for more creative work.

I like to just write down everything and anything I'm thinking, with no pressure for it to be related to what I want to draw. But you could also write about why you're fearing the blank white page. Often just this process of getting your thoughts out helps to dislodge the block or fear that builds up around the blank page and get you creating again.

This strategy can also help you to highlight any patterns or reoccurring problems that are stopping you from creating. Once you're aware of what's holding you back it becomes a lot easier to take some positive steps to change things.

Comment and let me know which one was your favourite tip!