FINDING INSPIRATION
Inspiration is all around you, but it’s how you interpret your sources of inspiration that makes them unique. I’m often asked where I get my ideas for my art, and my answer is always that it’s a combination of things: my experiences, favorite colors, love of nature and tiny things, and personality.
Below are a few simple suggestions for finding your own sources of inspiration. These tips have become good practice for me, and I hope they will for you too!
Keep a Notebook
I carry a small notebook everywhere I go and fill it with notes, ideas, and sketches. I allow myself to scribble and make a mess in this notebook; it’s full of starting points and possibilities. Choose a notebook with smooth, beautiful paper that you know you’ll love to use.
Bring a Sketchbook
I like to use my sketchbook as a scrapbook; I stick in bits of paper, plants, and ticket stubs. When I find a color palette I love, I paint swatches into my sketchbook as a record. It contains rough sketches, experiments, and mistakes, and it’s taken me a long time to learn that I don’t have to be too careful with it!
Rummage Through Your Cupboards
Take a walk through your home and look through your cupboards. Find five of your favorite objects to draw. I often do this as an exercise and find that it really stretches my drawing muscles. Sometimes I’ll find an object that I’d forgotten about or something with an unusual shape that sparks a fun new idea!
Go to the Library
I love spending time in the library and flicking through old books. It gives me a break from going online, and I always seem to find something unique. Nature and crafting books are my favorites, especially old ones that are full of interesting images and nuggets of inspiration.
Visit a Museum
A museum is one of the best places to go when you feel like you need new ideas and some direction. I especially love to visit natural history, folk art, and textile museums.
Bring a sketchbook and a pencil, and challenge yourself to make a few quick sketches of objects or patterns that catch your eye. Don’t worry too much about what they will become; let yourself enjoy looking at new and unusual objects!
Take a Day Trip
Treating yourself to a day trip somewhere new can be just what the doctor ordered. Go by yourself or take a relative or a friend, and notice the differences between this place and your own neighborhood. Is there a quirky café? What’s the interior like? Is there a gift shop that sells unusual items you may want to draw?
