Inspiration - What is it? Where does it come from? and more importantly - Where does it go?
This is the $1000 question for many artists! I have been fortunate, in never having to ask this question, Why is that? What do I do differently than many other artists.
Firstly, I don’t go to my studio each day to seek it out! Neither do I wait for it to arrive, as if by magic, from the ether.
I do go to my studio as often as possible, but it is not indoors, with all the interruptions of daily life to contend with.
It is out there in the wide open air, in nature, this huge ready-made canvas of wilderness, or forest, or meadow, or beach, or even a town centre, perhaps a park or a woodland, I find Inspiration everywhere, in abundance.
What draws me to a subject? Many years ago I opened my eyes and discovered there is a subject almost everywhere, certainly within 100 yards of the parked car or bicycle. Stop looking for that ‘chocolate box’ view, you will rarely find it. Instead, open your eyes and glance around, and notice the ordinary everyday things that others seem to miss.
An old gateway, a path through the woods, a shed, a tree, farm machinery, a hedgerow, or a wide open meadow, a corner shop, a wet pavement, an abandoned car, these can all inspire award winning paintings. Many times have I been out painting with others who go on to win the big prize, with their superb depiction of something ordinary, that I had walked past without noticing.
Where does inspiration go to?
I don’t have a clue, it has never happened to me. Every time I go out, It finds me! as if by magic. Keep those eyes open, and an open mind and together it will find you, when you least expect it, and usually within 100 yards or so.
