Out of My Comfort Zone, Into the Paint

Curiosity, courage, and giving myself permission to try

It was so hot today that lunch didn’t really happen 🥵 🔥  — so instead, I set myself a small, 20 minute playful challenge.

I followed a watercolour exercise by Andrea.Nelson.Art:
paint circles in two layers, then doodle circles over the top in pen.

Mistakes made – that’s okay it’s all part of the “Have a Go” mindset ….. note to self, let the paint dry in between layers, and before doodling with a gel pen in future 😂

Simple. Time-boxed. Low stakes.

And unexpectedly… fun.

(Also… I’m such a muppet — when will I ever learn to get measurements right? I was convinced I’d ordered a larger square watercolour sketchbook 🤦‍♀️)

What surprised me most was why this felt like such a stretch.

As a child, I loved art and watercolour. As a teenager, one of my pieces of a “Chinese Scroll” stylised waterfall scene, was even selected for a local art exhibition — but it was mislabelled by my teacher and credited to someone else, and the mistake was never corrected.

It was one of those quiet moments that gently reshapes how you see yourself, and what you think you’re “allowed” to be good at.

Have you ever found yourself doubting yourself? I know I have, and do

Fast-forward many years, and watercolour definitely  became “not my thing.”

Previously, I attended a wonderfully supportive watercolour workshop at the Festival of Veterans Arts (FOVA) , hoping to step out of my comfort zone.

The veteran artist was generous and supportive — yet imposter syndrome had a firm grip. Until today, I hadn’t had the courage to put brush to palette again.

Today felt different.

This wasn’t about doing it well.

It was about doing it anyway — imperfectly, a little impatiently, and with curiosity.

And it reminded me how often fear and self-doubt shape our choices — not just creatively, but across all pillars of our lives –  work, relationships, interests, and the spaces we allow ourselves to enter.

How often do we let fear or perceived limitations, hinder us from taking action and have a go?

What if you took a chance — not knowing how it will turn out, but trusting it’s okay to try?

You might surprise yourself 💚

#Curiosity #Courage #ImposterSyndrome #CreativePractice #TakeAChance #StepOutOfYourComfortZone #CreativePlay #Fun #HaveAGo