Overcome the blank page

Hello sweet creative!

Sometimes we lose touch with people and things that we love, especially at times when we need them the most. And more often than not, if we're not careful to make the time and even book it in our calendar, it's also very easy to lose touch with who we are, with the parts of ourselves that need to be nurtured, cared for, comforted and loved, just like a meaningful friendship.

So why not call a friend, or make time for something that feeds your heart and soul?

Making art could be a start, or planning an art date with an artsy bestie if you have one (lucky you!).

Making friends with the blank page

But coming back to the blank page or the blank canvas is sometimes easier said than done, especially when we're trying to come back to our art after a break.

Have you ever sat down with the desire to create, only to find yourself stuck—staring at a blank page, not knowing where to begin?

You’re not alone. I’ve been there more times than I can count.

Sometimes our creativity feels ready, but the first step feels heavy. That pristine page can be surprisingly intimidating. We overthink. We hesitate. We wait for the “right” idea.

That’s why today I want to share some simple, powerful, and joyfully imperfect creative starting points. These tiny beginnings don’t need to be pretty or polished. They just need to exist. And once they do, they open the door to everything that follows.

Tiny starts, big impact

Sometimes, I like to use water-soluble crayons to scribble randomly in my art journal—just lines, loops, little patches of color. Nothing fancy. Then I activate them with matte medium and watch the pigments bloom and blur in the most magical way.

It takes less than five minutes, but suddenly I have a page that feels alive. A page that says, “I’ve already begun.”

From that small gesture, I find momentum. I might return later that day, or days later, with fresh energy and new ideas. And even if I don’t know where the page is going, it no longer feels empty or intimidating. It feels welcoming.

You don’t need a plan. You don’t even need to like the result. The point is to show up—and let that first playful layer spark something new.

More layers, more meaning

Sometimes I’ll press use up some leftover paint from my palette into my journal, using paint brushes, bubble wrap or an old stencil. This way it's not wasted and it gets a page started without any agenda. Or I’ll tear a piece of a magazine, a bit of handmade paper, a found word—and glue it down without thinking too much about it.

These spontaneous marks become more than a background. They become part of the story. They whisper to future layers, suggest color palettes, and inspire compositions I never would have planned by simply "thinking"about it. When it comes to art, the less thinking, the better!

When I have unfinished spreads in my journal that started this way, or sometimes canvases too, then I can return to them like old friends, days, weeks or even months later. I'll add something here, smudge something there... They evolve slowly, organically, with no rush to be finished. Just the joy and wonder of watching them unfold, seemingly on their own.

Every new mark feels like a continuation of a conversation that started long ago—between my hands and my heart.

Why start messy?

There’s something deeply freeing about starting without a plan. When you give yourself permission to begin imperfectly, you dissolve that inner resistance. Suddenly, it’s not about creating a masterpiece—it’s about connecting with yourself in the moment.

When we start messy, we also give ourselves space to explore. To play. To discover things we never expected, to surprise ourselves. A page that begins with a chaotic scribble might end up holding something soft and soulful. Or maybe it becomes bold and vibrant. You don’t know yet—and that’s the magic of it.

And the truth is, even if you decide later that you don’t “love” that first layer, it’s never wasted. It’s a foundation. It adds depth. It becomes part of the history of the page—and that’s what makes it yours.

Here are some examples of random starting points. I demonstrate them all, and many more, in my class "The Artist & the Journal":

Collage with book pages:

Intuitive journaling, covered up with paint:

Random doodles with a permanent pen:

Colorful collage:

Begin where you are

There is no wrong place to begin. Start with what you have. With how you feel today. With one color, one mark, one moment of curiosity.

You don’t need a vision for the whole page or painting. You just need a way in. Maybe that’s a smudge of paint, a torn piece of paper, or a circle drawn in pencil. Maybe it’s a quote that speaks to you, or a feather you found on your walk.

Trust that small beginnings can lead to deep, meaningful creations.

And if your page takes a different direction than you expected? That’s perfect. Mixed media painting and art journaling are not about control. They're all about discovery. Every layer, every choice, every so-called “mistake” is part of the unfolding.

You can do this

Creative starting points are more than art techniques—they are metaphors for how we move through life. We don’t have to have it all figured out. We don’t need to know the ending before we begin.

We can start small. Start messy. Start now.

We can get back up after we fall, or when we feel like giving up. We can re-ignite a spark after we've let it go cold for too long.

And as we return to our art, again and again, we can remember that creativity isn’t something we have to chase, force or be good at. It lives right there within us. Like a friend, it's always waiting for us to come back. And it meets us joyfully when we do.

So if a blank page or canvas is staring back at you today, take it as an invitation. Just reach for a crayon, a bit of paint, a scrap of paper. Make a mark. Give yourself a starting point.

And let the rest unfold from there.

Light, Love & Fairy Dust,

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