What’s your inspiration they ask. Where do you get your ideas? I don’t think there’s an artist who has lived who hasn’t been asked those questions. In fact, even artists ask each other where they get their inspiration; why?
Let’s face it, coming up with ideas day after day can be a bit of a challenge for some. As artists, we take what we see around us, process that information in our brainpans based upon our life experience then try to pass along our interpretation based on our abilities and experience.
As one who believes in an intelligent being who created everything we see and even that which we don’t see, my inspiration comes from the sheer beauty of this marvelous world around us. When I see one of our parishioners praying in church, I see the millions of believers who have prayed throughout the millennia for family, friends, the sick, the suffering, and those in need.
When I see a tree with leaves I am moved by the thought that a loving God knows every atom in each and every one of those leaves. When I see a wild animal or a wild bird I marvel at how every hair and every feather is known. I cannot and do not presume to improve on what God has made, but I do try to see the beauty and interpret it in my God-given way.
That’s how I personally see the world around me, but not everyone sees it the same way, and that is good. There are those who see evil or corruption or injustice and feel it is their call to inspire others to fight said evil. That’s why we have political cartoonists, realists, and impressionists.
Politics—Tragedy—Nature
Instagram is filled with paintings, drawings, and renditions of victims, perpetrators, and incidents taking place in our society today. I can’t believe how many ways you can paint the COVID 19 virus and how impactful paintings and drawings of people wearing masks can be.
In all fairness, however, using what one sees in the news can be an easy way to find inspiration, but it also can make one lazy. And if you’re trying to sell your art…how many people are going to buy portraits of a crime victim.
Don’t get me wrong, art is important to raise concern, and can create a movement to move people to action; just look at Picasso’s painting Guernica. But I’m no Picasso and I prefer to find my inspiration elsewhere.
The other day Die Kunstler, our local artist club, had artist Brian Grimm as a guest showing how he paints his wildlife art. Brian is a local Hill Country Artist and his style reminds me of German-American painter Carl Rungius.
Brian, like Rungius, is inspired by wildlife and the rich landscapes of North America. In fact, Carl Rungius was so inspired by Banff, Alberta he built a studio there called “The Paintbox”.
Brian, who grew up in Central Texas, lives and works in the Texas Hill Country inspired by the hills and wildlife that have drawn Anglo artists here for nearly 200 years. BTW, can you see Rungius’ influence on Grimm?
Ilene and I were first introduced to Rungius at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, WY. Perhaps my art will be there someday?
Inspired by Life
At the end of the day, it is life that I believe inspires our art. Everything from an unseen killer like COVID 19 to the magnificent mountains and forests, deserts, and oceans. The birth of a child, the death of an old man, a hummingbird at a feeder, a flower in full bloom. Whether our medium is oil, watercolor, ink, or photography we take what we see or experience, process it based upon our life experiences, then present it to the world in the medium we choose.
And that’s why we’re all artists to one extent or another. Have a great weekend and…Now go make some art!