Where to Find Inspiration

I make it a point to start my day with a bit of art. I get up an hour before my family and sit down with my paints. It has become a habit for me that I love and if I don't get to do some kind of art my whole day will feel off. Creating something every day takes more than just simple persistence, it also requires finding new ways to be inspired. In this post I run through a few places where I go to find inspiration.

MAGAZINES

Magazines and catalogues offer different ways to be inspired. The painting above came from the beauty of a photo of dried flowers in National Geographic. NatGeo is an endless well of beautiful pictures that can trigger the creativity in my brain. But, I am purist and there isn't anything that would make me cut up a National Geographic (I may have a slight hoarding problem with them.) This is where catalogues and advertisements come in to play. I love cutting out pictures I enjoy in catalogues and pasting them into my art journal. I find this particularly useful at finding color palettes. You can try mixing to match the colors directly in your journal. 

 

ART JOURNALING

Simply the act of keeping an art journal can get your creative juices flowing. Above are pages from my art journal filled with things that drew my interest while flipping through a magazine. These pages weren't made with any plan and really aren't for any kind of public consumption, they are just for me to look at when I need inspiration. Having an art journal gives you permission (not that you need it, but in case you do) to make bad art. Experiment, try new techniques, new mediums, new color palettes without having to worry about "using up your good paper" or creating something that has to make a beautiful Instagram post.

INSTAGRAM

Speaking of Instagram, you can certainly find plenty of inspiration there from tutorials to fine art and photographs. But proceed with caution, it can stifle your creativity if you compare your work with others on social media. One thing I love to do on instagram is participate in art challenges which help to provide inspiration when I am not sure what to paint. The photo above is a list of different challenges I have been participating in lately. I tack a sheet up with the prompts for the week by my desk. The way I tackle challenges is to not make myself feel that I have to do every prompt every day, but rather use them as inspiration when I need some. The bonus to participating in challenges is meeting encouraging and supportive people on social media. Many of my Insta-friends are from challenges where we supported each other's work.

JUST MAKE SQUARES

When all else fails, just make squares. This is one of my favorite painting exercises. Lay out a grid with some washi tape (the above was done with 3mm tape that I love) and paint in the squares. Play with textures, colors, shapes. Let the paints bleed and bloom with each other. Don't worry about the outcome, just have fun. In the end you may have some color blends you never tried before or inspiration for a bigger painting.

I hope these ideas inspire you to create something. I am curious, where do you go for inspiration in your art?