Millie Jackson Rowe

Don't Panic

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I participated in my first open studio. I’d received the keys two weeks before and had just moved in. Now it was time to open the doors for three days, and let the public see what I had to offer.

Rather than having completed works hanging on the walls, I tried putting a work-in-progress on display for everyone to see, and it served as an excellent conversation starter. With that almost bare canvas, I was able to demonstrate how I start with a sketch, the tools I use to draw the shapes and just how free hand hard-edge geometric abstraction works.

Visitors were curious about my colour choices and “how long does a painting like that take” - spoiler - much longer than they thought.

Don’t Panic has since been on display in two shows and each time it reminds me of how I started the piece.

It didn’t really seem like much at the time, but being able to talk through my process with complete strangers and sharing both my techniques and vision really helped with my confidence.

I didn’t realise that a big part of my art practice would be practicing talking about my art.