Must See Website for Painting Inspiration

'Down the Winter Path'       8x10          pastel       ©Karen Margulis
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I stumbled upon a gem of a website the other day.  I was preparing for my classes on painting winter landscapes and was looking for paintings of winter to share with my students. I came across a website that I never knew existed and I can see myself visiting often for inspiration.

The website is www.Wikipaintings.org   You can search for art by period, style, genre, artist,subject to name a few. Or you can do a search putting in any keywords you'd like.
Here is an explanation of the site:

"The project aims to create high-quality, most complete and well-structured online repository of fine art. We hope to make classical art a little more accessible and comprehensible, and also want to provide a new form of interaction between contemporary artists and their audience. In the future we plan to cover the entire history of art — from cave artworks to the new talents of today."

Winter Landscape with Violet Lights    Janos Tomya

The painting above is one that I found when I did a search for winter landscapes. I found pages and pages of painting in all styles and time periods. Some I recognized. Many were new artists for me. I came across several of Monet's winter landscapes that I had never seen. I was like a kid in a candy store.  
How can this site help you?

• Inspiration!  As soon as I saw the painting 'Winter Landscape with Violet LIghts' I was inspired to do my own version. I loved the color palette. I found a reference photo that I thought might work and without looking back at it did my painting. The painting I did 'Down the Winter Path' was inspired by what I saw on Wikipaintings.
• Art History!  I never had a course in art history so sometimes I feel very behind in conversations with my fellow artists when the topic is art history. But I want to learn. I would like to take an artists or period or genre and study it in depth. This website will be very helpful in this endeavor. I can see myself relaxing with my iPad and studying art.
• Motivation!  If you are a Daily Painter or an aspiring daily painter then you know that sometimes the well is dry.  What to paint next is the question. How about turning to Wikipaintings and look through some art. Try to paint in the style of an artist...or use a color palette you like. Looking at other great art is a sure way to jumpstart your own paintings.

Have a look at Wikipaintings.org and see what you think. Feel free to share ways that you might use this website to help your own art!