Finding Inspiration Within Your Own Work
There are so many ways to find inspiration for new work. I’ve covered in a previous blog how I use nature as my most important muse, and how I use color, texture and patterns in nature to inform my work. Did you know that you can use your own work to propel you forward in future directions that you would like to explore? Yes YOU can be the inspiration of your own work.
How many times while your working on paintings do you get ideas for new ones? This seems to happen to me quite a bit. Sometimes when working down a rabbit hole of my intuition, I will come up with new colors, marks or compositions that I love. I will write down ideas or color swatches in a journal to further explore later on a different piece. Many times they are a surprise to me, which makes me so happy, but being ready to remember and record them is important for future use.
Another way that I like to use my own work to inform future work is to look at the details within my pieces. There are so many smaller abstract compositions with in a large piece that could be explored on their own merit. You know that favorite corner of your painting that you wish were the entire piece. Yea!! That’s what I’m talking about. You can practice this by working on paper or loose canvas. If the piece isn’t working as a whole, then you can cut out your favorite smaller piece to be your painting.
What if there are no parts of the painting that stand out to you, or you’re looking for a more subtle composition, there are a few things you can do to find new compositions. My first favorite way is to take a photo of my painting and crop it down to find my favorite details and see the new possibilities that I could further explore. You can also use filters for ideas for new color palettes for your next piece right in your smart phones basic photos app.
Another way to do that same thing if you don’t like to use your smart phone is to use a framing matte. You can move the framing matte around your piece to find new compositions that you like and would like to further explore. You might be surprised at the gems you find, even on the paintings that you really don’t like. I say this all the time, there are no mistakes, just happy discoveries. You can learn as much from an experimental piece that you never use, but what you learn from that piece can be priceless for future work down the road.
Lastly, I will put a painting on the easel next to me to look at for inspiration on a piece that I am working on with a totally different palette. It really helps to move paintings forward and remind you what you loved about the other piece and want to include in your new piece. We forget what we liked about previous pieces. We move on and sometimes will totally forget what we’ve done if our work is neatly placed in a rack somewhere. I like keep my work out and hanging on the wall in other parts of my studio to serve as reminders for me. Plus, there is nothing better than having your work around you to see all that you are accomplishing on a daily basis!!
I hope these have been great tips to help you move forward in your own work. I also hope that my words help you to understand my own creative process better. Understanding how an artist works is so helpful to me, and I love that I get this platform to share with you in a more detailed way!!
