I find there’s nothing better for sparking my inspiration than simply getting outside and immersing myself in nature.
That’s what I did yesterday. I had not done any painting since the birth of our baby girl, as expected. But it was time to get things moving again.
I went for a run at a local park to get the creative juices flowing. It was a miserable day by most accounts. Wind, rain, and a flat gray sky. But it was just what I needed. A casual stroll outside wasn’t going to cut it. I needed to feel the wind and rain on my face and witness nature’s infinite green tones.
It turned out to be a remarkably productive “art” hour. I ended up with a mind full of ideas and inspiration, a handful of reference photos to paint, and a few seconds shaved off my 5k time.
Just goes to show you can get a whole lot done without even touching a brush.
What doesn’t work for me, and probably won’t work for you, is staring at a blank canvas waiting for something to happen. If anything, this stifles my inspiration.
Be active. Go outside. Visit a museum. Draw something. Activity sparks inspiration. As Picasso once said:
“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”
Also, here’s a fun idea. I’ll share with you the reference photo from yesterday that I plan on painting next. Feel free to paint it yourself and email me a photo of the outcome. I’ll check back in a month’s time to see how we all went. It will be interesting to see the different interpretations of the same scene.
You can download a copy of the reference photo here.
Happy painting!
Dan Scott
drawpaintacademy.com