Personal Inspiration

I'm trying to find the inspiration in the everyday. It becomes too easy to look at other's artwork and think, "Gee, that's cool" then to realize that everything you create after it is derivative of the style you just looked at. 

So on a recent trip, I tried to take photos of things that captured my imagination. It made for an interesting vacation album!

I loved the colors and patterns of this storefront. In general, I love color, yet oddly I find that I lean towards using very subdued colors in my work. What struck me about this store was that appeared to have sprouted like a crazy bouquet on street filled w/ historic brick buildings. 

Hmmm...Maybe this photo was more about me and how I feel (I'm a crazy bouquet sprouted in a sea of brown and navy blue) than what I like to look at... but that's the heart of art isn't it? The feeling behind the images and colors...

Lady of the Sea

I can't think of a better way to begin than

 to talk about failure and disappointment. And this is coming from an optimist!

I've included an example of one of my recent disappointments 

- let's call her lady of the sea. This is a great example of having a vision in my head that my hands can't seem to translate. Every layer I added seemed to render it more contrived and graceless. 

I wanted to love her, this lady of the sea. She was supposed to be dreamy and royal. I wanted her to impart an anointed saintliness to the mysteries below. Instead, she lives in the corner of my studio, waiting to be finished and reminding me that you have to just dive in sometimes and start creating. And let go of the outcome. 

I'll finish her some day, or morph her into something else. I'm a big fan of recycling and reusing, so she'll have her day!