Blank Canvases and Original Sin

Blank Canvases and Original Sin

Do empty canvases make anyone else anxious?
Oh, the possibilities!
possibilities for greatness….
possibilities for horrific errors.

How do you get past those blank slate jitters?

My high school art teacher taught me to do an UNDER-under painting.
The first layer is to “mess it up and get that part over with.”
Then you don’t feel as nervous about that first stroke of paint.

The slate is no longer blank. The destruction has already begun! 
The mess has already happened. 
Now there is no reason to fear. 

Something that always bugged me about Christian doctrine is the idea of ORIGINAL SIN. 
One bite from the forbidden fruit and suddenly all of humanity is cursed with ancestral sin.
Newborn babies, born sinful. 
A hereditary stain. 

Maybe that’s not the right perspective though. Maybe this is really our Creator’s way of helping us get over our own blank slate jitters. 
Nobody’s perfect.
The mess has already happened.   
Now there is no reason to fear.

Artist. Seeker. Heart attack survivor.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *