I can’t count how many times I have heard this almost as a cry of desperation when adults are faced with creating art. What happened between those early days when we had NO fear?

I mean the happiness of the 2 year old child, we once were, when presented with a brush, paint and paper!

Our grandson is discovering paint and so much more right now and already demonstrates he has preferences in brush size and color choices - sparkle paints are his go to ones. He is unafraid of trying different brush sizes and colors although I sense he loves red, purple and orange - this week.

Why bring all this up? Well, here’s how I have approached this fear among adults.

First my 3 rules - for all ages.

If you can’t say anything positive, then keep silent
No making fun of others work OR YOUR OWN!
No judgementalism about others work OR YOUR OWN!

Now let’s get to work!

Pick up the brush, pen, marker in the hand YOU DO NOT WRITE WITH! This prevents control taking over.
Choose your favorite color to start with.
Close your eyes - yes close your eyes.
With your other hand holding the paper in place draw/paint a response to the word I speak

Everyone is on ‘the same page’ so to speak - as if they all were just beginning. After this we open our eyes and look at our efforts. Then we graduate to open eyes and usually I encourage them to imagine a favorite place, or if still sensing reservations we change colors and respond to different words.

Finally, it’s any color and subject they choose!

It sounds unusual and a little complex but actually it yields something wonderful!

Discovering we CAN create beautiful as well as emotionally expressive art.

Try it for yourself!

Even an artist can learn this way. Here are 4 images. The first three show the development from eyes closed to finished tree with eyes open. The fourth demonstrates the effect on my 4th tree - The Tree of Life: The End of Weeping.