Reflections of an Artist

Finding Inspiration

      I see something which stops me in my tracks. The light is catching the edge of a boat in just the right way to inspire me. I decide that this is what I will paint. In a perfect world every time I paint, I would be filled with inspiration. My vision would flow onto the canvas easily and without any struggles. But I don't live in a perfect world and there are times when my muse has gone missing. Inspiration is a fickle thing to base my career on, but as an artist that is what I choose to do. When I paint, if I am not inspired there is a very good chance that the painting is not going to be worth the effort.

      So my goal is to maximize the times of inspiration. It is easier to find inspiration in a beautiful garden, a spectacular location or a portrait of a lovely young woman, but these are all obvious icons of beauty. As an artist, I need to look beyond the picture postcard ideal and see something more. Finding the beauty in the ordinary is a transforming ability, not easily done. Holding onto that ability, to see beauty in the ordinary, takes constant practice. I am always forcing myself to see shapes that are interesting, the colors in the shadows of a building or the curved contours of an ordinary mans face. Training my eye to see beauty, even in an unattractive street scene as I am stuck in traffic or in something as unappealing as a trash can, helps me to maximize the times that inspiration strikes. Yours can increase too if you start to practice the art of seeing beauty in the ordinary. Train your artist's eye to see in a different way. My goal is to find inspiration anywhere and everywhere.