Category: Sources of inspiration

Sweet Seat II – 8×10 – oil on wrapped canvas – $80

My friend Lisa inspires me with her hard work, determination, and encouraging helpful criticism. We met the first semester of our freshman year at Redwood High School in an art class. She has been teaching junior high art for a number of years, and is now working on her master of fine arts degree in an online course. This adds about 30 hours to her work week, a killer schedule.

Lisa is an abstract painter, and has opened my eyes and mind to this style of art. Most abstract “art” leaves me scratching my head with wonder and amazement not only at the mess on the canvas, but at how it passes for art, enters a gallery and gets sold! I used to think it was nothing but an emotional outburst in a 2-dimensional form, but watching Lisa plan and create her work has changed my mind. Good abstract art does exist, and it is a result of hard work without the usual benefit of a scene, object or photo to guide the artist.

So now my mind is a bit more open, but I exercise caution in this area, lest my brains leak out.

There is an art newsletter called Robert Genn Twice Weekly Letter. Sometimes I don’t read it for weeks, then slam through a bunch of them at once. His writing reminds me a bit of the way the water keeps charging full force over the dam in a seemingly endless supply. The man never runs out of ideas, and he really makes me think!

Here are some of his subjects: pushing oneself through mediocrity, 14 points for jurying art, 16 ways to keep yourself working, attitudes necessary when working en plein air (French for on site), kalopsia (the condition of things appearing more beautiful than they actually are), works on paper versus works on canvas, and the way one artist creates caricatures. These short letters come 2 times a week, on and on and on! And, they are free!

www.painterskeys.com/subscribe/

A few years ago, Jack White (see Inspiration, part 2) referred to someone named Diana Botkin, and in the next issue there was an article by her! She wrote beautifully, and was clearly a wonderful person. (Yes, you CAN tell that by reading someone’s work!)

So, I contacted her to see if perhaps we are related. We married men who have the same last name, but, alas, we can’t find a connection. Meanwhile, I have learned so much from her – asking her technical questions, watching her market her work, admiring her discipline, loving her good character.

This woman is just incredible and her paintings of Northern Idaho and mothers with children are very very beautiful.

Here is her website: http://www.DianaMosesBotkin.com, her Daily Painters Gallery page: http://www.dailypainters.com/artist_gallery.php?artist_id=817 and her A Painting a Day blog: http://DianaMosesBotkin.blogspot.com

Why am I telling you this? Because Diana inspires me, and I hope that you too will be inspired by seeing her work!

Uncle Roger, private collection

When beauty appears, inspiratioin is spontaneous, easy and instant. The harder part of inspiration is motivation: what keeps me going, prevents me from quitting, answers my many questions, and pulls me through the dry spells? Most often it is people; they inspire me through encouragement, helpful criticism, and written materials. (And, I firmly believe that one must be an optimist to be self-employed!)

Art Calendar is the best magazine for professional artists that I have ever seen. Its focus is the business end of art. It is full of information by and about artists who are earning their livings solely by their art. Through it I have “met” several people who have changed the course of my career, from a pencilhead to an oil painter.

When each issue arrives, I immediately look for the article by Jack White, artist and author of books on marketing art. His wife is quite a successful artist also, probably because she is good (duh) and because Jack promotes her! Jack isn’t a highly educated man or a smooth writer but he is a great communicator. He writes sort of like President Bush talks – Texas is the common denominator there.

www.jackwhiteartist.com and www.senkarik.com are where you can find Jack White and his wife Mikki’s artwork.

Sometimes people ask what my sources of inspiration are. Most are probably asking about what gives me ideas for drawing – that is simple. My life experiences give me those ideas. When I was a kid, a teen and even a young adult, it was a challenge to decide what to draw. As I aged, the number of choices grew, and now, by the time I have sorted through all my ideas, there is hardly any time left to draw or paint!!

So often I have read biographies and artist’s statements that say “I have always been fascinated by light and shadow” or perhaps by “reflection” or “movement” or “textures” or “shapes”.

For me, the answer is simpler, and perhaps a bit of a cliche. It is BEAUTY! I am inspired by beauty! Sometimes it is natural and other times man-made, sometimes it is rustic simplicity, the way colors look together or the patina of age. Most often it is the way sunlight makes a normal object look beautiful. Once I had a job in a kitchen at a summer camp, and my coworkers would laugh at me when I would notice the beautiful color of iced tea, or the way the colors in the salad complimented one another. (But I am not scarred by the ridicule, so there!)

Now I think back to how I noticed colors, and wonder why I chose graphite pencil as my medium? Life might be full of surprises, but it definitely is full of questions!