The canvas is blank and I can't make myself start
Why this happens
A blank canvas has infinite options and zero momentum. Your brain treats the first mark as a high-stakes irreversible decision. It isn't — but the feeling is real, and waiting for it to pass doesn't work.
FIX IT NOW
- Pick the roughest, most forgiving brush you have — 6B Pencil or anything textured
- Set it to mid-grey, large size
- Draw one line across the canvas. Anywhere. Crooked is fine
- The canvas is no longer blank. The paralysis was specifically about the blank canvas — it breaks the moment there's a mark on it
IF YOU'RE STILL STUCK AFTER THE FIRST LINE
Draw a rough circle roughly where the main subject will go. Just the placement, no detail. Now you have a composition.
The goal of the first 5 minutes is not to draw well. It's to have something on the canvas to react to. Reaction is easier than creation from nothing.