Nothing To Say

I had big plans to go to my art studio today for four hours of uninterrupted painting. With no telephone solicitors, or chain e-mails to worry about, I looked forward to quality creative time.

The work day begun un-ravelling the moment I stood in front of the blank canvas. The studio was too hot. My sore shoulder started aching. I paced back and forth, wondering if there was any iced-tea in the fridge. Maybe some music would help. How did the place get so dirty. I'll just clean up a bit.

Forcing myself back to the canvas, I felt at a loss, not knowing where to begin. The movie "Pollock" popped into my mind. At one point in the movie, Ed Harris, playing Jackson Pollock, stood in front of a blank canvas. The thing was so huge it covered the entire screen. Pollock became overwhelmed and sat in front of the empty canvas for two days.

There is a term for what Pollock was going through and it's called existential angst. This condition occurs whenever it becomes necessary to create something from nothing. After procastinating and waiting in vain for something to happen, I decided I must have existential angst. After three hours, it became obvious that today I had nothing to say.