I've been wanting to paint...

I've been wanting to paint but I just can't seem to get started. Two christmases ago, I bought myself some canvases, paints and brushes. My nephew Mark, who teaches fine arts even gave me some huge canvases. So far, it's been a blank. What is it about painting? I get inspired looking at paintings and even some graffiti. What keeps me from doing it? Fear of failure is one reason. Putting aside material time is another. I even got myself an ipad with painting and drawing apps loaded in. I have one of those bound books with blank pages inside. There are a few attempts in there but none that pleases me enough to show them off.