WHEN I FIRST DECIDED to include this section in the book, I intended to show you a range of pictures that exemplified exactly where inspiration can be found, but it really didn’t come together for me. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that inspiration is so personal to each artist, it’s hard to point out where to find one’s muse. There’s not a road map to becoming an inspired artist, but if you are an artist, you are already inspired and passionate about what you do. Isn’t that right?
How to keep that inspiration flowing and what to do when it’s not coming together are perhaps the better questions to pose and/or discuss. I know for me, it’s all about keeping my eyes and ears open to digest the world around me. Keeping a notebook and journal is the easiest way for me to catalog the sources of inspiration, experiment with tools and to wind down at night. Both serve as reference points for me when I am at a loss as to what to do. A song I hear may spur a story in my head. A smell of my favorite meal may bring me back to a time and place that emotes peace and love. Walking on the beach can clear my head and soothe my soul. Leafing through a home decorating magazine may inspire a new color palette for my next collection. Taking my camera wherever I go is a fact of life these days—I rarely leave home without it, and if I do there’s always the phone camera to turn to.
The point of this ramble is that finding and keeping what inspires you at the top of your priorities list is probably one of the most important self-care tasks you can do as an artist. Without inspiration, you become an empty vessel void of anything to pour on the canvas.
If your well is dried up and you find yourself stuck in a quagmire of self-doubt, fear, or uncertainty of what to do next, it is more than likely time to take a break. Get some sleep. For me, a lack of R&R time is one of the biggest reasons I fall into an uninspired abyss. Once I take care of myself, I find the flow to come more naturally. In addition to general self-care, creating a practice ritual in the studio—where you show up and forge through any fears of getting started—can prove invaluable. That practice ritual may look different to each person, the same way everyone’s start to the day varies slightly. One thing I do most days is to leave my table with the next project ready to go. Doing so can help to jump-start your painterly routine. As I mentioned before, art journaling is one way to keep an ongoing source of inspiration at your fingertips. Art journaling can also be a great relaxer for those days or evenings when you don’t have it in you to take out all of your supplies.
Lastly, listen to your intuition and allow it to guide you. Listen carefully, and you will know what you need to become inspired again. Why did you start painting in the first place? What is it that makes your heart sing? Be true to that calling and allow it to flow freely and without constraints.