Where to Find Inspiration For Mixed Media Art
When I sat done to write this article, I didn't know what I was going to write about.
So I started thinking about where our inspiration come from.
We can go online, there are 1,000 of articles and blogs and great artwork But it is SO easy to get distracted - check our Facebook, see what our friends are up to; post a few comments, follow blogs and comments to find new artists and artwork - before you know it - ONE WHOLE hour has passed..
...
how did that happen? - it may explain why it has gone dark out and your fingers and cold and cramping over the keyboard.
Maybe a little inspiration has entered your head - but no art has been made.
We can flick through magazines to look at techniques and colours But it is so easy to become overwhelmed by the glossy photos and the gorgeous pieces with lots of layers and put together with such mastery that we would never be able to copy it, let alone create an individual piece - before you know it - time has passed but no art has been made If we are looking for inspiration, there are times where new techniques and seeing what others have made is important; it feeds our minds and allows our clever brains to put an idea together with a colour scheme we saw with a technique we haven't done in ages..
And to get it done - we need to sit down at our art tables and DO IT.
If inspiration doesn't hit when we have the time, I often start by gathering up the left over pieces on my table (sorting as needed, throwing away *cringes* if I must).
Sometimes a colour will catch my attention, then I will go in search of other similar colours I have, or images that will match or fit my mood This is where the inspiration begins to get momentum.
Sometimes that's all that I need to get an idea; gathering like colours.
If that still hasn't got me inspired, when I've got some leftover pieces of paper and some matching colours, I will find some blank card and cut a few ATC's (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") or a greeting card base and put things together without too much thinking, as I usually would.
In most cases, by now I am MAKING art in full swing with ideas pouring out of my head.
Then there are other times where inspiration still hasn't hit.
That's when I need to evaluate if making art is going to happen today - am I too sick or too tired or just my head is too busy thinking of other thinks? At these times I will dig out my sketchbook (a term I use loosely, as doodling book is more accurate) or a piece of paper and my coloured pencil (a simple 12 pack) and put colour on the paper.
I'm not a drawer or fine artist (that's why I love mixed media art) but I can do squiggles and lines and attempt to shade.
Some times I just write words, letting my mind wander...
And I may not end up with a masterpiece, ready for the next glossy mag edition, but I have given myself permission to create something simple, giving myself a rest and hopefully added ideas to my brain to sort into inspiration for another time.
Sometimes we can find inspiration and we are off and creating; other times it needs more encouragement to surface...
then there will be those occasions where it is not happening - let's just accept that and get a few other things done, clear the desk (both physically and mentally).
We are complex human beings after all, and there will always be another day to repeat the process, and find that inspiration.
Happy creating, or doodling, for which ever mode you are in.
Michelle
So I started thinking about where our inspiration come from.
We can go online, there are 1,000 of articles and blogs and great artwork But it is SO easy to get distracted - check our Facebook, see what our friends are up to; post a few comments, follow blogs and comments to find new artists and artwork - before you know it - ONE WHOLE hour has passed..
...
how did that happen? - it may explain why it has gone dark out and your fingers and cold and cramping over the keyboard.
Maybe a little inspiration has entered your head - but no art has been made.
We can flick through magazines to look at techniques and colours But it is so easy to become overwhelmed by the glossy photos and the gorgeous pieces with lots of layers and put together with such mastery that we would never be able to copy it, let alone create an individual piece - before you know it - time has passed but no art has been made If we are looking for inspiration, there are times where new techniques and seeing what others have made is important; it feeds our minds and allows our clever brains to put an idea together with a colour scheme we saw with a technique we haven't done in ages..
And to get it done - we need to sit down at our art tables and DO IT.
If inspiration doesn't hit when we have the time, I often start by gathering up the left over pieces on my table (sorting as needed, throwing away *cringes* if I must).
Sometimes a colour will catch my attention, then I will go in search of other similar colours I have, or images that will match or fit my mood This is where the inspiration begins to get momentum.
Sometimes that's all that I need to get an idea; gathering like colours.
If that still hasn't got me inspired, when I've got some leftover pieces of paper and some matching colours, I will find some blank card and cut a few ATC's (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") or a greeting card base and put things together without too much thinking, as I usually would.
In most cases, by now I am MAKING art in full swing with ideas pouring out of my head.
Then there are other times where inspiration still hasn't hit.
That's when I need to evaluate if making art is going to happen today - am I too sick or too tired or just my head is too busy thinking of other thinks? At these times I will dig out my sketchbook (a term I use loosely, as doodling book is more accurate) or a piece of paper and my coloured pencil (a simple 12 pack) and put colour on the paper.
I'm not a drawer or fine artist (that's why I love mixed media art) but I can do squiggles and lines and attempt to shade.
Some times I just write words, letting my mind wander...
And I may not end up with a masterpiece, ready for the next glossy mag edition, but I have given myself permission to create something simple, giving myself a rest and hopefully added ideas to my brain to sort into inspiration for another time.
Sometimes we can find inspiration and we are off and creating; other times it needs more encouragement to surface...
then there will be those occasions where it is not happening - let's just accept that and get a few other things done, clear the desk (both physically and mentally).
We are complex human beings after all, and there will always be another day to repeat the process, and find that inspiration.
Happy creating, or doodling, for which ever mode you are in.
Michelle
