President’s Letter

  Your inspiration – How do you come up with a new creation? Do you go driving in your car? Sitting in meditation? People are always looking for new ways to be creative, and they often look to artists for that inspiration.
 
Inspiration is the fuel for an artist, it’s what gets our creative juices flowing.  It’s natural for that imagination to have its slow days and fizzle out.  So there are times when we need to look for new Ideas and do some experimentation.  Nothing is quite original and there’s always a story of inspiration behind every artwork. Anything can inspire the artist.
 
So where do we look for inspiration: 
1.  Look to the past. Check out the Masters of the Past. 
2.  There’s nothing like searching through piles of art books to get inspired, right? Looking at old magazines, newspapers, textured materials can be used to create something new. Nothing is junk.
3.  Literature, films, music, and the web are all great resources. Subject matters, words or even musical beats can affect you emotionally and can bring out some inspiration.  Other people’s perspectives on life and what is beautiful or ugly can be very inspiring.
4.  Putting yourself in another artist’s shoes and another artist’s mindset is a great way learn new techniques and quite possibly integrate them with your own.
5.  Network and share your work with other artists. Other artists in your field of work aren’t your competitors; they’re your peers.
6.  Try something new. If you paint, try building a clay sculpture. Go in the opposite direction from what you normally do. If you’ve mostly been doing realistic portraits, try doing something surreal and out of the ordinary. It’s the base of being an artist. Being open minded. You can find inspiration in yourself by just doing something differently.
 
Remember there is inspiration all around you.  Open your mind and see, hear, smell and feel.  It’s there; you will find it.
 
Happy Painting.

Jan Dalton

 APRIL 2017