Didn’t really appreciate how hard this was going to be. I kept thinking about getting my arty stuff out of the bowels of the loft for months and kept putting it off! The real inspiration came when we had a holiday near Dartmouth in Devon. We hired a cottage and on the wall was a large, original, mixed media painting of a boat on a shoreline. Local piece. Just was inspired by the colours, textures and free flow style of the artist. In the evenings, we frequented a local pub where the landlady, a local artist, exhibited her work. Was enthralled with the colours and style. Again, very loose, applied mainly with a pallet knife. And, then we visited a range of galleries in Dartmouth. That was it. Came home, hadn’t even unpacked the suitcases, went into the depths of the loft and hauled out the art stuff. Some of the materials were old (30+ years), paints were dried out and pastels were crumbled. Had a sort out and made a list to replace them. Also dug out some of my old artwork. Some were thrown out because they were sooo bad, others were OK ish. Dug out the old art books to revise approach and techniques. So, we have materials and a blank piece of paper, but no inspiration What inspired me about the pictures I had viewed on holiday, was the style. Some would call it abstract. So, I looked up abstract art on the internet. Wow that’s a large category! Came across YouTube videos by Oliver Maass who paints quickly, using lovely colour combinations, with a pallet knife and acrylic paints. Some of his work is stunning. I had a go and one of the results is featured here. One of my friends bought three of these pieces! What this approach gave me, was freedom of movement and the permission to combine a collection of colours. My art journey had begun. During the research into abstract art I was intrigued by abstract geometric art, such as Piet Mondrian (virtuosuart.com), which inspired these next pieces, called “Colour works” These were fun to do. The canvas background was painted in black and then masking tape was applied. I had started to relax, have fun and was ready to try out new techniques and materials. Research continues, I subscribe to art magazines (The Artist and Leisure Painter), joined Painters Online, have bought some new books, spent a great deal of time reviewing YouTube videos and, time and money in art shops! Go and get out those paints/art materials and just start mark making. Just ENJOY! Website: https://artworkbyjan.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Artworks-by-Jan-100465378128301/ Twitter: @JanUnderdown Instagram: jan.underdown