The Courage to Begin
This isn’t a kindness token.
It’s not a floral watercolor.
It’s not my “usual.”
She emerged unexpectedly—from colors mixed with curiosity instead of certainty.
We so often confine ourselves to familiar creative territories, don’t we?
Building walls with phrases like:
“I’m not a portrait painter.”
“I’m not a trained artist.”
“It’s not my style.”
“What if people think it’s terrible?”
I say: Screw that.
No, seriously.
I’m learning—over and over again—that the hardest part isn’t technique or talent. It’s permission. Permission to begin. To experiment. To be imperfect. To be seen trying. To live this one precious life—your life—the way you want to.
This portrait isn’t technically perfect. The proportions wouldn’t satisfy an art school critique. But there’s something alive here—something no perfect technique alone could capture: my willingness to try.
This painting made me uncomfortable. And sharing it? Even more so. And yet—there was joy, too. A quiet joy, woven through the discomfort. The joy of realizing I didn’t have to get it “right” for it to matter.
It reminded me:
The art is in the making. (I’m doing this for myself.)
The courage is in the sharing. (I don’t care what people think.)
The joy is in the letting go. (It doesn’t matter what this looks like.)
Perhaps our greatest creative barrier isn’t lack of skill, but fear of imperfection. We forget every expert was once a novice with trembling hands. We forget beautiful things emerge not just from mastery, but from courage.
So I’m sharing it. Even though it’s not perfect. Even though it’s not what you know as “my brand.” Because it’s still a part of me. Because maybe it’ll give you permission to try something, too.
I wonder how many symphonies remain unwritten, how many gardens unplanted, how many stories untold—not because we lack ability, but because we’ve confused imperfection with unworthiness.
We wait for permission that never arrives.
Maybe today, you just needed to see someone else’s beautiful attempt—without focusing on its flaws.
Maybe today, you just needed a little permission.
Well, here it is.
