‘Life is a blank canvas, and you need to throw all the paint on it you can.’ — Danny Kaye
Most of the time, New Zealand doesn’t even appear on the maps (my mum joked about it being like Peter Pan’s Neverland). Aotearoa is the Māori name of NZ, referring to the north island, and a close translation is ‘the land of the long white cloud’.
How beautiful is that?
I have already seen this long white cloud several times in the few weeks we’ve been here. We arrived in Auckland early on a Saturday, beginning of February, deep Summer, avoiding the floods but not cyclone Gabrielle. We flew from San Francisco - it was one of those long, long flights.
There’s this thing called ‘fear of the blank canvas’. Some people get terrified when there are no constraints; some others take it as an opportunity to paint their own picture. In a way, this is the philosophy with which I am approaching this 2-year adventure in NZ. Change brings the opportunity of painting (or re-painting) any picture. For me, this new picture is taking the form of a new city, a new project, a new team, new friends, new(ish) role at work…
To overcome the fear of the blank canvas I am following the same strategy I would do in any project: I go back to the things I know, to my references, to my methods. I trace and learn from others. I set up constraints. This means I look harder at the world around me, to find patterns to, paradoxically, discover new colours.
Looking out the window is one of my favourite pastimes. We stayed at an apartment hotel for the first weeks and we were lucky that our room was facing north to the harbour, where we could see all the cranes operating at the port at the back of the view. I drew them over and over. I took photographs. They look like some sort of animalistic creatures, that move slowly each day, under different light and weather conditions. I am very sure George Lucas found here some inspiration for his Star Wars’ Imperial Walkers.
Every great power comes with great responsibility. Grabbing a pencil and drawing your picture means being accountable for your own fate. The picture I’d like to draw on this blank canvas is an enriching adventure: learning from other cultures (especially the indigenous Māori one), exploring more, and drawing, drawing, drawing. This goes along with a concept I read some time ago about living a thick life instead of a long one.
Pause for a moment and reflect on this. Imagine you have before you a big blank canvas. What would you paint? What colours would you use? Would you plan your picture or go with your intuition? Would you copy what others have done before in your own style or just as an exact replica? And the most important question: would you even dare to paint at all?
Life is a [constant] blank canvas.
I also recently read in a book that life is much more relaxed, balanced, when focusing on doing instead of becoming. It tames our ego and it gives us a purpose to keep going. The thing I want to do - the picture I’d like to draw - with these Kiwi Chronicles is to journal and document somehow my adventures and findings on this side of the world, during this time that I am living here in Auckland. This is a sort of introduction, still a blank canvas, but I am open to experimenting with different visual formats. Just expect to hear more about personal stories, curiosities, and places in Aotearoa in this section of The Sketch Club.
Who knows. Maybe one day this might become the book I have always wanted to write.
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Happy sketching!
Ana
PS: I intend to give an extra bit to paid subscribers by showing more personal sketches and thoughts at the end of each of these posts in the Kiwi Chronicles. You will still be able to access the majority of the chronicle by being a free subscriber, but if you’re interested in having a look at this extra content, make sure you upgrade your subscription. As always, thanks for reading!
Have you ever been to New Zealand? It would be great to hear about it! Leave a comment, any recommendations, and share your thoughts :)
Setting constraints is a great way to focus and obtain a better product at the end. Like a comic strip having three squares to setup a joke and tell it.
Oh the idea of the gigantic cranes inspiring someone is wonderful
Adopting a mindset of doing vs. becoming can free us from weight of the inner struggles we deal with and make us feel lighter to enjoy our craft and life.
I like the comparison you made with a blank page and starting anew. In life as in art taking the first smallest step can help to overcome the fear and doubt we face.
Thanks for sharing your experiences in your journey. 👍🏽