How does one go about finding artistic inspiration? This is a question I have been asking myself
because the season of winter is my most difficult time of year.
Which is sort of sad because winter is when I have unlimited time for painting and every year my creativity feels blocked, much like writer’s block. They are both frustrating and sometimes feel like you are failing.
When this occurs I have a tendency to gravitate towards smaller paper, thinking less space will release these emotions. That is almost never the case, regardless of paper size.
So how do you get past a block to find artistic inspiration? I'm talking about that vibe that makes us burst with joy
Switching Gears for Inspiration
For some we completely switch gears and go outside, others mediate
or read. Photography can help or just sitting down to sketch can be another
form of finding inspiration.
Everybody has their own take on how to find their artistic inspiration.
But first I must say, I live where there is natural beauty everywhere, so there is no excuse or set of words that can help me explain this lack
of creative flow.
As a naturally busy person with a creative heart my view of something can differ from day to day as I am more focused on movement over detail.
Loose relaxed painting just makes me feel alive.
So recently I switched gears in a different way by increasing paper size.
My husband also helped by coming up with a neat inspirational plan that encourages me to spend more time painting before rushing outdoors.
My Artistic Inspirational Plan
This plan starts with words and I got everything prepared in one day. Beginning with a few of those small watercolor
paintings I talk about all the time. I cut them into strips then wrote a color name on the blank side of each one.
Then I wrote subjects from our environment like pine cones, trees, bark, branches, etc. Each strip was folded and placed in a dish at my table.
The following day I selected a word and pondered how it makes me feel while making my morning coffee. When it was ready, I sat down and painted from that word and colors circulated.
I am keeping this going for a few weeks and plan to evaluate my progress because it was an effortless way to begin.
Today my word was yellow. Can you believe it on a dark rainy day that was my word.
The outcome, however, was fantastic! It felt like I was painting in this wonderful warm light using Winsor Newton yellow ochre and cadmium yellow watercolor paints.
This word exercise is a positive aide to boost creativity while rediscovering artistic inspiration. Maybe it will also help those reading because I could see this being implemented to many things.
Encouraging goodness,
Carole West
Find Winsor and Newton Paints here - I love these watercolors!
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