What Inspires Me?

Recently, I have been getting a similar question over and over, namely, what inspires me?  The idea of inspiration can for some take on a mystical quality and at some level I suppose it does for me as well, especially of when I think of the times when I know I am experiencing inspiration in the moment.  Unfortunately, I'm not aware it occurring often.  The frequency is increasing however, which is definitely a good thing.

A month ago, I was sitting in a Starbucks that I go to in my neighborhood when I feel the need to be around people.  I was sitting in a chair that I have sat countless times over the past 13 years I've lived in the neighborhood.  On the wall hung the typical Starbuck mass produced coffee themed art.  Something caught my eye and I stared.  First, I found it odd that I was staring at a picture I didn't particularly liked and I had seen many times over the years but something was different.  I then noticed that I was studying it intently, the color, forms and shapes, the feeling.  I took a quick picture with my cell phone and went back to my work.  Periodically, I would look back up at it.

I decided that I had to create my version of what I saw when I returned to my studio the next day.

A few weeks later, I was again at the same Starbucks and there was the picture that inspired me.  But it appeared different to me.  The colors and feeling were different compared to the last time I was there.  Thinking I may have lost my mind, I looked at the photo I took and it matched up with what I was seeing, not what I had saw.  That was when I realized that I had a moment of inspiration.  I saw something interesting, something different, than I had seen before.  Since then, I have had that experience a few more times and fortunately I am learning to pay attention to those moments. 

So, when people ask what inspires me, the answer is everything.  I don't know where it will come from or when but it often is something common and often overlooked.  I just get a chance to see it in a different way than before and that seems to be enough to trigger something in me to go with it.

On a side note, the paintings that came from my Starbucks experience do not look like the painting in Starbucks.  They are however some of the best work I have done to date.  Photos will be available shortly.  I'm in the process of having these developed as prints.

Inspiration

I enjoy hearing random people I speak with that they are not "creative".  I don't believe it but I usually let them finish their explanation.   It is sometimes coupled with praise for my work which makes it more difficult for me to challenge their view of "not being creative" without losing the praise.  I like getting the praise.  As I have written about before, I believe all are creative in one way or another.  People get ideas and then they do something as a result of the idea.

Being creative has two major components, idea and action.  Another ingredient or possibly a catalyst is inspiration.  For me, I experience two types of inspiration, inspriation that leads to ideas and inspiration that leads to taking action. 

When I'm dreaming, walking down the street, on the verge of waking up or falling asleep, meditating, watching tv or reading a magazine, I "receive" images or ideas for art projects (and not art projects).  I describe this as receiving the ideas because the often feel like they come out of no where and are unrelated to what I am thinking or doing at the time.  They feel like a gift.  With the ideas I receive is typically a purse of energy.  It is this energy consider to be inspiration.  It is fuel for the idea.

But after I have the idea, it is not uncommon for it to sit in my head for weeks or sometimes months or years before it comes out in any form (if ever).  An idea is just and idea after all. 

Fortunately, I also experience an inspiration to take action.  This is a little more than feeling motivated to push an idea forward.  When this occurs, I'm excited, energized, motivated, encouraged to bring my idea into reality.  This is a need or desire to take action and the action feels good, physically and emotionally.  As long as I can focus on the inspiration, I am able to ride the wave and continue to take action.  But, on occassion, I get distracted, the flow it broken and the momentum seems to slip away.  I can get the inspiration back with concentrated effort.  Distractions however will come back to haunt me.

I've learned that the inspiration that leads to ideas and the inspiration that leads to action don't necessarily come at the same time or are even on similar schedules.  Fortunately, with patience and perservernce, both will return and the combination of the two allow me to be creative.

Man Cannot Live on Art Alone

I've been struggling the past month or so in finding inspiration and motivation to paint. Some days I force myself, other days I simple don't do it. I feel guilty. I try to rationalize it. If I don't feel it, I don't feel it. I also was blaming the economy. Little has sold this year so why bother. But I have to remind myself that I don't paint to sell, although that would be great. I paint because I have a creative urge that must be satisfied.

During this time period of slow creativity, I also realized that art alone was not satisfying my analytical side. I want more than art. So, I am relaunching my consulting practice that was very successful several years ago to do in conjunction with art. It will take some time away from the art but in the end, I believe my art will have more energy and life in it. Of course, time will tell.

In the meantime, my day is not split between art and consulting. Both businesses are in its infancy and a lot of work lays ahead. I am trying to break things down into workable pieces so as not become overwhelmed. I have had a tendency in the past to take on big projects, expect too much too soon and then become disappointed and drop everything when reality shows my expectations to be unrealistic. Patience and planning are definitely virtues. I'm learning that.

Original Recipe

For several days now I've been feeling down, then I becamge blue and now I am just plain sad. I have no energy and want to sleep all the time. But guess what? I'm not sleeping very well either. I began to notice that although I've been a full time artist now for almost 3 months and I have created some very good and interesting pieces, they are not original. The inspiration for most have come from other people's art work. I've been imitating their style, technique, theme or color selection. I've gotten pretty good a doing so.

The problem I have with this is that as an artist, I feel that it is my job to create something original, to create something that is uniquely mine. When you look at a Picasso or a Miro, even if you haven't seen the painting before, you know who did it. Okay, I'm not famous (yet) and few know who I am but there isn't anything specifically "me" in my work. Right now, no one can say, "oh, that's a Nolan."

So, I'm thinking about what separates the Picasso's from the rest of the pack. I have concluded there are three things that stand out. First, there is an unique technique. The brush stoke, the colors, layout of the image are all very specific to the artist. Try as they may (and I may) other artists cannot complete replicate. It is one of a kind. The second is that they do not imitate. They are completely themselves. This is tightly coupled to the first. The paintings, as well as the artist, are honest. They are from the artist's soul. They are not superficial. And lastly, the artist has a message. Some are more obvious than others and the message often changes over time but the message is there. The combination of an unique style, honesty and a message I now believe is what helps create a good piece of art.

So, why am I sad? Because I have none of the three. I have been imitating others, I don't have a original technique nor a have I been honest. That is to say, I have been honestly mimicking others, but I haven't been honest in my creations. I haven't exposed my soul. And, I don't have a message. I don't feel like I have found my voice yet. This hit me like a brick in the head.

Here is the kicker. I know that I can develop an original technique or look. I know that I can be honest. And I know that I have a voice or message, I just don't know what it is today. All three will reveal themselves (hopefully soon). They will come out as I continue to experiment, play, and stay open (or become open). This is the hard part for me. I'm impatient. I want my signature creations now. I'm going to have to work for them. I have to paint even when I don't want to. I have to try new things even if I don't think they will work. And I have to listen to my gut for those elements that spark me and then capture the sensation, feeling or situation so others can "see" what I am "saying."

Being an artist is not all glitz and glamour. It is hard work. I want to take a nap.

Too Sick to Work?

For most of this week, I have been suffering from a head cold. It has been a doozy. It has wiped me out, physically and emotionally. I didn't want to work. I just wanted to sleep the day away. It wasn't possible. I tried. When I attempted to take a nap, instead of relaxing, sleeping and recuperating, I laid there wide awake wondering how everything I wanted to do this week was going to be accomplished. I didn't feel creative with a pounding headache. So I focused on the administrative things I wanted to finish up this week. I thought those would be benign enough (remembering my corporate days when I went to work sick all the time) that I could push things forward even if it weren't at the speed things would move if I were healthy. No such luck. I found the administrative tasks annoying. Basically, nothing was going to make me happy. I went back to bed.

This went on for a few days. I would start something, not finish it, go lie down, get up and start it again. I also forced myself to be creative for a bit. I mixed up a color for the next layer of resin I wanted to add to two pieces I'm working on. I followed through to completion. Although I felt a sense of accomplishment, I was disappointed. I didn't like the color selection. It obviously was reflecting my state of mind at the time. It was just a little bit off, like I was. I went back to bed.

This morning, after a restless night of sleep, I felt a little better. Or I should say, I felt I was on the road to recovery to rejoin the living. But even though I wasn't feeling 100% yet, I felt inspired. I felt it was time to tackle something. I was energized but I didn't have much energy. I was encouraged and optimistic but still wanted to go back to bed. I decided to get up and go to work, like it was any other day. I'm glad I did. I added the next layer to the pieces I had been working on all week and although I still don't like the color from yesterday, I thought of a way to incorporate it into the pieces as I continue to pour additional layers. I KNOW that this "off" color will work perfectely when I add the other colors later. The "play" I was looking for will be there, probably better than if I had done what the original idea. I suddenednly began to love the color. I also began a new piece, one I had be "avoiding" becuase the concept seemed challenging. Although it was a challenge, it wasn't as bad as I had imagined. My conclusion is that I was inspired and creative even in my sick state. My ability to create is not dependent on my mood or physical ability. My ability to create is on my willingness and intention to create. Any my perserverance to push through fueled the fire so to speak. I had more to work with today, if that makes any sense. It is kind of like I know and can do "it" when things are not perfect, I can't imagine what I can "do" when things are nearly perfect. It pushed me up a rung on the ladder.

I once heard, and still believe it today, that there are no mistakes in art. Art happens. It is the result of creation. If I take it at face value, it seems obvious that my work this week would be at the same caliber as if I were healthy. But I realized a few things. First, I want to love "my mistakes." Those ugly ducklings that I produce. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and perhaps those "mistakes" are signpost to a new direction that will yield bigger and greater success. I also learned to get out of my own way. Having a cold drained my energy and my resolve. I didn't have to fortitude to do what I envisioned for the piece. I just did something to placate my guilt. I'm glad I did. My guard was down and the result will be a unique color combination I would not have intentionally tried. I want to find a way to drop my guard when I'm feeling better. I want to maintain a resolve to create without putting conditions on the outcome. I want to enjoy all my work, not because I declared it good or bad, but simply because I helped in its creation. But ultimately I learned that I want to create whenever I have the chance. To just keep going. Today builds on yesterday and if I didn't build anything yesterday, where is my foundation for today? That sounds a be heady but I think you know what I mean.