"PUTTING THE CANVAS ON A PEDESTAL": THE STRUGGLE OF A NEW ARTIST

As an artist, I am a fan and supporter of other artists. As such, I see a flood of beautiful and inspiring and highly skilled art every single day.

And then there's me.
Staring at this blank canvas. 
Paint on brush, idea in head, 
And yet I am afraid to touch the brush to canvas.

WHY!?
Why???

Because I put the canvas on a pedestal. Though it is nothing more than some canvas stretched on a simple wooden frame and covered in gesso, I had subconsciously placed the canvases value above me and my work & ideas. I started seeing it as more than what it was, a tool.
I "put the canvas on a pedestal".  

Have you ever seen The Forty Year Old Virgin, with Steve Carrell? The movie is a simple post modern rom-com about a virgin and his friends who are obsessed with breaking his virginity.  A piece of advice one of his friends gave him, regarding his virginity was "Stop putting the p**y on a pedestal." What this meant in context with the film, was stop being afraid. Stop putting this idea of what this is, ABOVE you, inside your head.

And this where my debacle comes in. A canvas is a tool of creation, like pens and paint and markers.
It's blank so it can be filled with ideas and color and eventually a masterpiece. You are not below your tools. You are not above or below anyone else. All artists have been where you are at this point at one point in their career. Staring at their canvas, mind full of ideas and drowning is self doubt due to personal expectations set for yourself and other hang ups. Don't put the canvas, or whatever media you use above you. Your tools are there for the purpose of creation. 

KEEP CREATING.