Artsy Inspiration Wrought from Everyday Life

I've written before, that when my motives for artmaking fall into striving for income or awards, the art falls flat, along with true satisfaction in this profession. In the last couple years, I've peeled back my objectives for being an artist, investigating my intents and purposes; I've seen that the more prideful my focus, the less fun or fulfilling the pursuit is. Past motives for artmaking came to mind: from drawing pictures as a little girl; to painting as therapy after the birth of our stillborn daughter; to the fulfillment of my dream to paint full-time when I lost my job in 2012; to fear which forced a carefulness that stiffened my style and sapped my joy as I worried about paying bills and supporting our family a few years ago. [...]

I found a little bird in a box of my oldest Christmas ornaments. Its feathers are sparser and more ragged than when I was a little girl and it perched low on my grandparents' or our tree every Christmas. I can't remember for sure, but I believe Grandma attached the bird to a bow (remember those sharp, plastic points that made bows never, ever fall off?) on a gift to me after I admired it each year when I was small, as I remember putting it on our tree the rest of my childhood, and then as a young wife and mother. It had a little horsehair nest, which has long since disappeared. I placed the bird on our tree this year, and seeing it there immediately brought back memories of being a little girl, laying mesmerized beneath a decorated ponderosa or cedar, staring up at the multi-colored lights, old glass bulbs and sparkling icicles. I can smell it. I can hear my mom playing guitar and singing “Little Toy Trains,” and I can feel the excitement and awe of being a kid at Christmas. [...]

It's funny how our egos can churn a simple statement into a personal affront. An artist quoted as saying he doesn't paint cows because it “doesn't mean anything,” offended the part of me who's insecure in my lack of formal artistic training. In my mind I defended my work- that while my art is not about social injustice or political statements, people experiencing it relate to the emotions they feel in my expressive animal paintings. Aesthetic work, though bucolic or banal, can still speak through the way it's expressed. [...]

I read a blog post recently about prioritizing art in your life. It's not a new concept, as I've written ad nauseam about my giving up horses and hockey to devote more time to painting. The article was poignant because my friend Marci had just died of cancer at age 54. Marci lived like a shooting star, brightly painting the world around her with color and laughter and lighting it with new ideas; she was an artist, in the truest sense of the word, in spite of her busy schedule. Had Marci put off artistic pursuits until she had the time, not only would her life have lacked the color and spark that expressing oneself artistically ignites, but her friends would have missed her art and insights, which inspire us to live creatively. [...]

No matter our skill level, we take more creative risks when we let go of the fear that expectations instill, and creative risks are not only exciting but the catalyst of anything new in art. Had Picasso "played it safe," we likely wouldn't know Cubism. [...]

The self-defeating voice in my head was loud and demeaning, and art production waned during the summer as I tried to regain my path as an artist. I wiped out dozens of paintings that didn't express anything in particular, and I worried about my art career as my bank account shrunk. Yet my gardens grew, and harvesting and preserving the miracle of tiny seeds in good soil reminded me of the process of completing a good painting. [...]

The older I get, the more I see how easy it is to get complacent in our habits, but being receptive to new methods and advice keeps me growing as an artist. I didn't finish college or even take Oil Painting 102, but I've continued learning. Whether through a class or workshop, or by simply talking with fellow artists, those lessons help me every time I stand at an easel: [...]

This year, I'm choosing quality over quantity, and producing fewer seeds, but planting them with love and care in fertile soil. I'm teaching fewer classes, more joyfully. I'm sharing art with more youngsters, to give them exposure to the fun of simply creating. I'm having coffee with friends-something I never made time for before, and I'm attending art events because I want to and not because I feel obligated. [...]

Posting the less-than-mediocre daily paintings was good for my humility as well. We benefit from seeing that not everything an artist produces is gold- some are real stinkers! ...taugh me something, and more importantly, showed my followers that art is adaptable. Like people, art can begin going one direction and end up disfigured but “happily-ever-after-ing” somewhere completely different. [...]

It was a great honor when my college art instructor, Jim Lawson-who still teaches me something every time I talk to him, and who made me realize that a degree isn't requisite to my being an artist- came to see my new space. Like Terry, and that big old window, Jim's been there from the beginning of my career as an artist. [...]

As much as I like to believe that all my greatest paintings lie ahead of me, I know that some of the best works I'll ever produce were created in that modest space, when I was a busy mom working two jobs, dreaming of the life I live now. [...]

My humble foundation wasn't an obstacle to be "overcome," but a collection of influences that shaped my artistic viewpoint and work ethic.  I hope students know that it's possible to accomplish anything if they work at it, and they are blessed with teachers today who'll help them along. [...]

Sometimes shy people just speak a different language more fluently. Art bridged the gap between Lisa and I where spoken words couldn't, even if we'd shared the same language. The outgoing Zambians taught me not only to be more expressive and intuitive in my painting, but also less shy or self-conscious in conversation. [...]

As a painting instructor, I'm particular about set-up and clean up, washing and carefully reshaping over 100 paintbrushes after classes. But teaching acrylics outdoors in 105-degree Zambia taught me to loosen up my rigid expectations. We made do without tables or paper towels, and out of necessity, our group members devised water cups from soda bottles, smartly affixing them to easels with yarn. I let go of needing to clean sun-baked paint off the handles of brushes, as appearances didn't matter. Teaching was about connecting and expressing ourselves through paint more than it was about our materials, set-up or clean up. [...]

I know this experience will teach me more than I could possibly teach others, and that it will change my life. It cements in me the idea that if you put your whole heart into the area you're passionate about, it will grow in unexpected directions, leading you to places beyond your dreams. [...]

I believe most creative endeavors present an open line to Divine inspiration if one is willing to seek it. And you can identify works where the creator -musician, writer, artist, chef, etc.,- tapped into that force, though it's hard to explain- it's something you feel. [...]

When I finally painted this idea as a tangible representation of that long ago dream, the reality of where my life has gone since those days fills me with gratitude. Painting is the way I respond to and how I express my appreciation for the world around me. Painting to me is a prayer, a connection to God, the Great Creator, and He definitely guides my hand, head and heart in the paintings that sing. Earning income on it allows me to do it more often than when I worked a conventional job, but I'd do it regardless of whether I could make a living on it. [...]

Each setback involved with this painting led to a better outcome. Looking back, I can see that without the disappointing circumstances, it might have never been completed, let alone exhibited and published so widely. [...]

Of the three components of success, work is most important. As young people we "create and wait," believing that "getting discovered" will set us effortlessly on the road to success. [...]

Remembering how back then I'd dreamt of the life I'm living now- having entire days to work on my art, I wanted to commemorate what this time of year used to mean to me and CeLeBraTe my freedom today. I decided to paint a week's worth of daily paintings between Christmas and New Year's. I'd planned on seven, but ended up w/ nine. Here are eight of them: [...]

Art becomes your lifestyle when you're passionate enough to make it a priority in your life, even if it's a tiny chunk of time; it's what you need to get through the rest of your life more joyfully. It may not be how you earn a living, but it's how you live your life. [...]

Bobbi didn't come to Uncorked to learn to paint, nor to share much about her talent nor her life- I had no idea she had health issues. Bobbi attended these classes for other reasons: camaraderie; helping others -she always had thoughtful suggestions to make a subject easier; encouraging others; having fun; and sharing -like I do- in the joy of watching first-timers realize that they can create something with paint. [...]

At about the time I need a reminder to keep growing and learning, rejection keeps my head from getting too big. It prompts me to focus on my main purpose as an artist- [...]

Adding green significantly changed the light here...See how it makes the bottom right look more red? That's the power of complementary colors. It also makes the horse appear more pink, whereas the previous orange background brought out the blues in his coat. A blue background would have made the orange on the opposite side look brighter and bolder, and would have made the horse more orange than red. [...]

"Life can take turns that pull us away from our plans, but if we keep faithful to our ambitions and work hard, it's possible to end up exactly where you want to be." [...]

It's peculiar that a painter of pastorals and livestock would be inspired by the Master of the Horror Story genre, however, when you explore the daily practices and attitude of any productive person, you're apt to find principles to apply to your own creative growth. This article could be about any prolific creator of words, music, or art, but King inspires me. [...]

The point: don't wait for the perfect time or idea. If we make it a priority to simply "Show Up," and create, with no expectations of grandeur or failure, blocks or muses, creative epiphanies or tragic expressions, great things begin to happen. Create something now…for fun. For me, "showing up" has been crucial to fulfilling my life as an artist. [...]

It was petty of me to fear painting left-handed, when hundreds of artists around the globe paint with the brush held between their teeth or toes. The need to create is not detached with a limb; it's in the soul-integral to the existence of an artist and essential to their recovering from such a loss, or any loss, for that matter...May we always, in enthusiastic sweetness, seek the eventual good in life's sour situations. [...]