In Front of an Empty Wooden Panel

Hello, and Happy New Year 2026!

I've been thinking a lot again about the processes of painting. An empty wooden panel can feel both full of promise and deeply frightening. It's like a quiet room or a space where all possibilities are present, yet nothing has taken shape. But when I paint with oils, I never begin from emptiness. I begin from everything I've carried with me for years: experiences, emotions, memories, and those invisible layers that make me who I am.

Painting is not, for me, simply applying color to a surface. Every brushstroke is an attempt to touch something I may not be able to put into words, but which I feel strongly in my body and mind. It's an attempt to give form to something that has lived inside me for a long time; sometimes quietly, sometimes insistently, sometimes as a gentle whisper.

And still, beginning is often difficult. There are moments when standing in front of an empty panel feels like standing on a threshold I can't quite cross. Not because I don't want to, but because I know that every new piece demands honesty. It requires surrendering to a process that is never fully within my control. This honesty can be frightening, because when you paint for yourself, you inevitably reveal yourself at your most genuine. You know that feeling, don't you.

In those moments, I return to small things. The way light touches the surface of the wood. The rhythm of my breathing, reminding me that nothing meaningful is born in haste. A small memory, a flicker inside the body that refuses to leave me alone. These are like little doors through which I can enter the world of the painting.

The first colors are allowed to be imperfect, tentative, searching. I demand nothing from them. The wooden panel receives everything: uncertainty, joy, sorrow, hope. It doesn't judge. It simply exists, and allows me to exist with it. Gradually, the painting begins to breathe its own life. It is no longer just wood and pigment, but something that has emerged between us. Something shared.

Nothing comes from emptiness. Every piece is built from what I have lived, seen, and felt. Every layer carries something from the past, yet opens space for something new. Just like we humans.

Take good care, you wonderful soul, and let's stay in touch.

Warmest regards, Hanna ❤️