How are YOU inspired to paint?

How do Artists come up with the ideas for creating art?

Some very creative Artists use their imagination. My brother is one such Artist and he has my utmost respect. Unfortunately I don’t fall into that category! He has a series of paintings based around “Bill & Sheila”, a couple who live in a retro-style caravan on the Queensland coast of Australia. His paintings are humorous and each one has its own story.

So how do I get my inspiration?

For over 20 years now I have been painting seascapes, water, birds and oceanlife. I am very fortunate to have lived close to the beach and lake during that time. I love nothing more than going for a walk along the beach, hearing the crashing waves, smelling the salt air and feeling the warmth of the sun.

When I visit the beach I am looking for the translucency in the waves, or refractions in the shallow water with the sun glistening on its surface. That is often what inspires me to paint. I take literally hundreds of photos with my DSLR camera and take hours trawling through them until I find the one magic photograph that has all the feelings of the atmosphere I remember when I took the photo. I often find that a mediocre photo is transformed once it has been cropped and the colour saturated. With my painting I then try to give the viewer the same “wow factor” that inspired me to paint the scene.

The lake is home to numerous birdlife … the elegant heron, ungainly pelicans and majestic black swans are all close to the shore. I love sitting and watching the pelicans while they wait patiently at the boat ramp for the fishermen to return with their catch. I’ve recently painted them with more of an abstract background, while still capturing their likeness.

The ocean in all its moods …. I’ve recently taken lots of photos of stormy seas, looking down on the foaming surf crashing against the rocky shoreline. I’m pretty keen to paint from one of these pics!

Another thing that inspires me is watching how other Artists work. The internet is amazing for this and one of my favourite shows is Colour in Your Life, which has its episodes available to view online https://www.colourinyourlife.com.au/tv-show/. I have picked up many wonderful tips from watching the Artists who appear this show. There are also lots of online Tutorials available and I think the phrase “self-taught” can be substituted for “Youtube-taught” for many Artists (me being one of them).

So … I’m inspired :)

Now … what inspires you?

Happy painting :)

Carole