Where inspiration comes from and learning to see.
““To see takes time, like to have a friend takes time,” Georgia O’Keeffe wrote as she contemplated the art of seeing”
I teach art students to see in our mixed media classes
We walk around our days inside our head, thinking of what we have to do next, replaying conversations, making to do lists. In the process, we are forgetting to look around and see the beauty and perhaps the troubling images around us. If you are an artist wanting to find inspiration, you have to first try to get out of your head and into your experience. While walking, you may have missed the sound of a beautiful bird’s song; the beauty of the texture in the rocks, the smile on a baby’s face and even the disturbing image of a homeless mother begging for food for her child.
These are all fodder for our painting. As artists, we draw from our experiences consciously or subconsciously. The texture of that rock may be something that comes up in your mixed media piece without you even realizing it. Inspiration comes from many different places if you take the time to NOTICE. Collect the experiences, photograph them, write them down, or just be conscious of their impact on you. When you are in the studio, you will have a treasure trove to draw from which will get you excited about creating.
In the video below, you will see my varied collection of inspirations this week. I’m interested to see where they may show up in my work.
