Finding Inspiration

Inspiration is a strange thing to find. You don't really know when you'll feel it, or how you'll feel it and whether you will at all. It's not about technical ability, or how big your to-do list is. Inspiration is how something effects your heart and feelings. It can be an emotion or desire. Something that fills your body with ideas and tingling motivation. Of course, without motivation, inspiration is useless, and without inspiration, motivation is dead. It's a fusing of these two coming together that gives you the power to create a painting you feel emotionally attached to.

Inspiration can be found from many places. Some travel the world, which is one of the more costly ways. For some more realistic ways, there's a lot of powerful music out there, which seems to go into your ear - and straight to your heart. Some go walking in the countryside, by the coast or in deep forests. One way that is very common for artists and one that I personally use is researching other artists work that you love. I have many favourite artists that inspire me, and give me a kick up the bum to keep practising and producing work. But there is a danger here too, that we can get obsessed by comparing our work with others. This can be a real motivation killer so beware and use with caution. There will always be someone that is better at something than us, it's important to remember that and remind yourself that you make art for you.

Pinterest is an amazing way to stay inspired and probably the method I use the most, to keep myself brimming with artistic ideas. You can see my Pinterest page here: Katie's page . I have a board specifically for other peoples art that inspires me, but also other boards about the ocean, colour and colour palettes. If you get inspiration visually more than written word, I would definitely suggest setting up your own boards for inspiration, no matter what your profession or hobby. Even to use for home decoration ideas or healthy meal recipes.

So here's some things that keep me inspired, I'd love to hear how you stay inspired so drop me a comment or message me on Facebook.

If you have any questions about anything related to painting or art, let me know in the comments box.

Love Katie x