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Monday, June 19, 2017

How to Get Inspired to Paint

'Roadside Inspiration'           11x14           pastel        ©Karen Margulis
available $225
Everything is moving right along. My weekly blog themes are slowly rolling out and I am excited and inspired by them. I have to work to find paintings and ideas to fit the themes and that in itself is filling me with inspiration!

Welcome to Inspiration Monday! Why not start the week out with some inspiration? On Mondays I will share a quote or practice that I find inspiring. It will be something that will hopefully guide my week and encourage greater creativity. So the big question is.....How does one get inspired to paint or find something that inspires a painting?  Here is a great answer from Matisse.

"Don't wait for inspiration. It comes while one is working"   Henri Matisse


The underpainting on Canson Mi-Teintes paper moonstone color
In fact while I was researching artist quotes on inspiration, quite a few said something similar. Inspiration happens when you are actually creating. It happened to me today. I was faced with an empty easel and a pile of reference photos. I couldn't decide what to paint. I guess I wasn't feeling particularly inspired by any one of them. I puttered around the studio finding excuses to start a painting. Finally I just picked a photo. It was a scene I loved but it didn't grab me right away.

Once I started painting things changed dramatically. All of the sudden I was engrossed in the scene. I recalled all the details of the day. I felt pulled into the scene and it became a part of me. Two hours of painting had passed and I realized something......I was inspired!  

Just starting the painting was enough. Once I was working the floodgates of inspiration was opened.

The pastels used for this painting....Terry Ludwig and Diane Townsend
Sometimes we face blocks. There are things in our lives that prevent us from painting. We feel uninspired. If it is possible to pick up a pastel and just start painting inspiration may just follow.


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

So lovely, thanks for posting this.

Sandi Graham Pastels said...

Love the painting and poster like look with Matisse Quote. How did you create that poster look ?
I have been a follower since the very beginning and have learned so much. Thanks Karen.

Karen said...

Thank you for the comments!
Sandi, I made the image with the quote at canva.com

robertsloan2art said...

I can't count the number of times this has happened to me. It's why I do my level best to make my materials convenient and try to develop a routine around when and how to paint. Weather and health may disrupt it, but I get going and then I've got the itch to keep going.

Ricardo García said...

It happens to my me in all my pictures. The best way of inspiring is to stick my empty paper in front of my. Then I can see what I want to paint and to express.
Sometimes it encourages me to think that I can make nice any of my bad photos. I think what I can do for my photo, and not what my photo can do for my.
In my case, the most difficult thing is to begin.
Your posts also help me very much... I am going to cut a bit of paper!!

Becky Chappell Artist said...

Thank you for this great reminder! I've found this to be true but forget it sometimes!