Do you need inspiration to create?
I’m often asked where I find my inspiration.
The short answer is everywhere. There’s a marvelous line from Chuck Close
“Inspiration is for Amateurs, the rest of us just show up and get to work.”
People tell me how they only paint when they are inspired.
The trouble with this idea is that inspiration can come at anytime, and if you don’t capture the idea at the time, it’s lost.
Ever laid in bed at night and come up with a fantastic idea,
only to have forgotten it in the morning?
Or, how about this you have a fantastic idea, and try to create it, but it just doesn’t come out as well as you imagine it should? Then you’re discouraged and do nothing for months?
In other words, you either fail to capture the moment or the execution fails and you give up.
Creativity is like running a marathon.
You have to train and eat well for months before the big day. Miss the odd day and you’ll probably be OK. Start running on the day of the marathon and you’ll fail. The secret to inspiration is to keep doing. The more you do, the more skilled and inspired you become.
First, You have to exercise your body
learn to draw, paint or sculpt and keep doing them
Prepare your mind to be open to new ideas and techniques.
You have to remember the skills you’ve acquired and understand where to apply them. You have to live and breath the art so that you can recognise that moment of inspiration in a chance happening.
Misty wheel here came about after 2 distinct moments of inspiration.
The first was when I was walking on the south Bank of the Thames on a wet and dismal day in March. The view appealed, especially the positioning of the lone orange/red pod. I took a few pictures with my phone.
When I was painting, the brown ink I was using bled out in an unexpected way.
I wasn’t happy with the result so I used some white ink to cover it. When I applied the first drop of white ink I was concerned it was too stark, but the brown was still wet and mingled in a rather pleasing way. So I carried on applying ink along with some salt and water.
Because I’ve done many other paintings, I wasn’t phased by an apparent disaster and was able to act and save the situation.
I doubt I would have adapted as well if I hadn’t been in a habit of regular painting.
You don’t have to be an artist to be creative. Creativity applies to most aspects of our lives. I have been struggling to write this post and the irony is not lost on me. If I wrote more frequently, I’d have found it easier.
So what do you do to be ready for inspiration? Let me know in the comments.