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Where do you find inspiration?
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Message
Posted
Who knows. The muses, little minxes, come and go!
I haven't painted for ages for documented reasons, but I recently received a book as part of a circle of of us who share empty books and we add a pic to each others books. Make sense so far?
Anyway, I got this book and started flicking through then wham! an idea. I designed it and put it in. It's rubbish of course, everything I paint is rubbish to a greater or even greater degree which is why I stopped. But for some reason THIS rubbish demanded to be put down. So I did. I look at it and it is rubbish, but it is what demanded to be painted and I hope, I really hope, that when the others see it they say "wow, that's a really good interpretation of the theme...pity he's rubbish, but never mind...what a good idea". Or something like that.
That's me anyway
D
Posted
Unfortunately demi I suffer the reverse of lack of creativity because most things I see, I want to reproduce until it swamps my brain and I can't settle. Now this can also be a problem because I find it hard to concentrate on any one thing at a time. You don't say what medium you use so if I was you I would make a list of mediums that interest you - don't worry if you haven't used them before because that would be a challenge in itself. There are also so many art mediums out there, have a look at art stores on line - Jacksons Art, Great Art, Ken Bromley, Cass Art, SAA (Society For All Artists). Then an Art Mag like Leisure Artist or The Artist to see if there is anything to inspire you. A look at our Gallery here might move you to try something. Various art videos on You Tube are great. It's all about learning and creating - you don't have to be brilliant. A lot of us on POL are hobby painters and not professionals. Good luck! Will look forward to seeing your first new ventures in the art world.
David - look at the Gallery lately and you will see such varying art styles, your work is definitely not rubbish. It will all come back!! So many have been where you are at the moment, in fact I am just emerging from my own shadow world - again!!
Posted
Don't try to force it - unless you're a professional, who has to work to live, take time off: there's no law to say you have to paint every day, and if you did - where would you put it all?
More seriously: while I admire those who paint every day, I've never been able or even willing to do that: you'll certainly improve faster if you can, but you can also work yourself into a rut and never think about where your art is going. If I want to give myself a kick, I do two things, generally - either switch medium for a while, and/or play a bit of Mozart, which in my case starts the juices flowing; doesn't have to be Mozart; could be King Crimson, or even One Direction (I suppose...). But whatever you do, don't turn painting into a duty that has to be done - if you're painting for a living you have to keep regular hours and sustain a regular, though not excessive, output. Otherwise - take it easy; suit yourself; the more pressure you apply to yourself, the more tight and tense you get.
But you've been off the boil for a long time, it seems. Well then - try music; get out into the countryside and have a good look around - take camera and sketch-book; look at some of your old work and sketch-books and see if there are ideas there you didn't follow up at the time, or did but weren't satisfied with the outcome. Read fiction - watch the news - stimulate the brain in any way you can, because that's where impulses to create come from - doodle - go to Facebook and have a look at all the work others are doing, and YouTube: I find that's a great way to get my brush fingers itching. Take a piece of paper and just apply markers or paint or both to it until something happens, or you feel you need to move on to a "proper painting". These methods all work, I've tried 'em all at different times, because the other (and final, you'll be happy to hear) thing is that we all get this now and then - the drying up of inspiration, the feeling we've done it all, said it all, seen it all, and that everyone else is better than we are anyway. For some people these feelings last for years - but then something happens and they pick up a brush and off they go. I hope this is what happens to you.
Posted
Hi Demi
You don't mention what inspires 'you' nature, buildings, land/seascapes, Just to say it's nature for me.
You won't find inspiration every day, but when it grabs you, if possible do a sketch, take a photo for reference, don't forget to add lighting and shaded area in the sketch, different times of day give different shadows.
I find early morning sunshine gives a hard solid shadow, and the light on a subject is an inspiration on its own. But you could be grabbed any time of day, always be prepared, its a moment in time that can be lost so quickly.
Happy painting :)
Nice sketch work, Sylvia
Edited
by carol
Posted
Whatever your particular interest—portraits, landscape etc.—t'internet is a wonderful research tool and you can browse thousands of artists' work while sitting at home. Each evening do an image search on your chosen subject. Join Pinterest and collect images that you find interesting—Pinterest is a wonderful online scrap book and it can also 'suggest' things similar to those you pin in your own boards (they're not always very 'similar' at all but one thing leads to another). From all of this you will be able to form ideas about what you want to do and how you want to do it and, I suggest, in a short time you'll have more ideas than you can deal with.
If you've not being doing anything for a long, long time, my advice would be to stick with a medium you feel more confident with for the time being, until you feel you are flowing again.
Posted
Well, I find that I have to create something every day. This ranges from 10 minute sketches to knitting my flouncy cardigan, which has a few months to go! Seriously, a small sketch does the trick for me if I am feeling antsy for not having painted and it keeps the momentum. However, don't worry if you don't do anything. I also find that having a week or so off recharges the batteries, as long as I haven't got a deadline. It is supposed to be fun.
Posted
No time for nightcaps here at this studio; I'm sat here, guitar in hand, rehearsing music by Pachelbel, Bach, Vivaldi, Elton John and Ed Sheeran for a wedding booking this Friday.
It's ok to take time out and do something different; what a friend of mine calls "Artists' Dates". Last Friday I went for a walk over the farmland out back of the house armed with a DSLR camera. I came home with pictures of a Brimstone butterfly, but not of the Orange Tip I went hunting (it wouldn't keep still). you can take a sketchbook with you if you want to, but you don't have to; basically, you're switching off and getting in front of different material which will stew in the old grey cells. Suddenly, bang - inspiration will strike. Dunno when, but it will
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