The Art of Filling a Blank Page

What baby can teach you about creative work

My son’s first art piece. He just had to fill the blank canvas!

Two weeks ago, my newborn son, Nate, did his first piece of art. He had just turned 4 months old then, so using the word “art” is stretching the definition, but hey, he did apply himself, okay?

While other babies at the workshop kept playing with the paint and putting it in their mouth, I tried very hard to keep Nate’s brush into his hands for him to draw something. He couldn’t bear to see this white page empty, so he filled it with blue paint. Here’s the result, in all its glory:

Nate’s very first art piece, at 4 months old.

I noticed something beautiful in the process: Nate never hesitated one bit. He firmly held the brush and painted without a care in the world. He didn’t think about how nice it would look or if others would judge it.

I mean, a baby’s brain is too immature for that anyway, but what if they are into something? Isn’t it true that creatives craft their best work when they don’t overthink things and just let their genius take over for them?

I was watching his art in awe not of what the result was becoming but of the process and the simplicity it took for him to “just do it”.