Art inspiration is everywhere…

Music credit: Supine, Peter Sandberg

This week, I walked to the train station. Nothing remarkable. Just the usual fifteen-minute route through the centre of town. But instead of rushing I slowed down. On purpose.

I set myself a small task: Notice what catches your eye. Not the big, obvious things, but the tiny, hidden interesting shapes and patterns, motifs and moments.

I paid attention to the shadows cast by railings. The silhouette of a plants against a clear sky. Stripes of fencing, angular and imperfect.

Noticing became a kind of tuning fork, helping me tune back into my own visual sensitivities. That part of me that’s sensitive to shape and pattern. Line and contrast. Colour and texture.

I paused often.

Not to capture the perfect photo, to simply notice. And as I looked, I found more.

More shapes. More visual whispers that I’d perhaps normally pass by.

It reminded me that inspiration doesn’t shout. It waits for us to seek it out, to pay close attention, to slow down enough to notice it…

This kind of wandering and wondering is one of the easiest creative practices I know. A way to gather and reflect. Because inspiration doesn’t always come from grand views or planned studio time.

Sometimes it starts in the space between errands, on a Friday morning. Walking through the centre of town, looking and really seeing.

If you try it, you might be surprised by what reveals itself.

Materials

Here are some of the materials I was using in this video:

• The paper I am using is mostly Academia Paper from Fabriano

• The large A3 sketchbook is from a British brand called Daler Rowney

• The small sketchbook is a Venezia Book from Fabriano

• The black brush pen I am using is a Pentel pen similar to this one

• The glue I am using was Liquitex Matt Gel Medium

  (Some of these links are affiliate links, if you buy something through them, I might earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. I only ever share the products that I actually use. )
  

Recommended Reads:

Finding art inspiration in nature

“Study nature. Love nature. Stay close to nature. It will never fail you.”

Frank Lloyd Wright

The colours, patterns and shapes of nature have been an enduring creative curiosity for me.

Looking at nature invites awe and wonder into my life and is the inspiration for much of my art. When I slow down and take the time to really study nature, it moves me, motivates me and inspires me.

A walk in nature soothes my soul, enlivens my spirit and informs my creativity.

In this video I share some of my recent sketchbook pages which have all been inspired by time in nature and a couple of art books and artists who have created stunning nature-inspired art…

The photographs of Karl Blossfeldt

The artist Olaf Hajek

I also chat a little about my new online art class Nature and Nurture which uses nature as a catalyst for creating art… So if you’d like to use the shapes and motifs of nature to nurture your creativity and inspire beautiful and unique abstract and semi abstract art you may like to check it out.