06/17/2026
The Fear of Painting
We’ve all experienced it—the fear of starting to paint.
When I first picked up a brush, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I watched YouTube videos over and over again. I studied online artists, read articles, and searched for anything that might give me the confidence to begin. Ironically, with so much information available, it’s easy to become overwhelmed, and that only adds to the fear.
I often wish I had someone like Michelle Cry back then to guide and encourage me.
What finally got me to put brush to canvas were those simple sayings we’ve all heard:
Nothing happens until you take action.
The first step is where every journey begins.
You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to become great.
Those words stayed with me.
One day, I sat down and asked myself a simple question: What is really stopping you?
When you quiet your mind and truly listen, it’s amazing what you hear.
• It won’t be good enough. — Perfectionism.
• I don’t know enough yet. — Imposter syndrome or the need for endless planning.
• What if I fail or look foolish? — Fear of judgment.
• It’s too overwhelming. — Task paralysis.
• I’ll start later when the timing is better. — Procrastination.
As I listened to all these reasons, I asked myself another question:
Who’s in charge—me or my brain?
That was the moment everything changed.
I realized there would never be a perfect time to start. The only way to learn was to make mistakes. The only way to improve was to begin. Every small step forward was an achievement worth celebrating.
Now, ten years later, I’m still learning. I’m still growing. I still check in with my thoughts from time to time.
The difference is that I no longer let fear decide for me.
If a painting doesn’t turn out well, I learn something.
If it turns out beautifully, I learn something.
Either way, I grow.
The truth is, the unknown is what scares us—not the act of doing. Once we begin, the fear starts to lose its power.
So start.
Learn. Grow. Fall back. Improve. Create something wonderful. Create something terrible. Just do something.
Because every artist’s journey begins the same way:
With a brush touching a canvas for the very first time.
You might just amaze yourself and discover that the thing holding you back was never the painting—it was the fear in your own mind.
Janice Peterson
Mystic Brush Stroke
