I would like to talk about inspiration for this month’s blog. Inspiration is the motivation that makes us want to create. We all get our inspiration from different places. I get inspiration from the world around me. Sometimes I drive around with a sketch pad and look for something that I just have to paint. I bring my stadium chair and stop when I am inspired and make sketches. When I go out like this I usually come home with ideas for several paintings. Along with the composition, I also make notes about the size of the piece, color notes and whatever drew me to that location. Then I stretch up some canvasses and am set to go out on the next day.

Other times, I store up a scene for the future. That was the case in “Cherry Blossoms”. I had been noticing these beautiful blossoming cherry trees for years. By the time I was delighting in the blossoms, I found it was too late to prepare with sketches and get my canvass ready, for the blooming season was half over already! So for this particular painting, I prepared ahead of time. This time I knew when they were going to bloom and I went and did my sketches ahead of time when the tree was still bare. I figured out the composition and the size of the canvass. I got myself all ready and was poised and waiting for the big event. At the first signs of blossoms, I was there working on the piece. I probably had 2 or so weeks to work on the painting. I block of time that I felt was necessary to do these beauties justice.

A year or so later, I used the same tactic with "Magnolia on Main". Magnolia blossoms bloom for even less time than cherry blossoms. A funny thing happened with this painting though. I worked on the painting through the blooming season. As it was on the town green, I wanted to incorporate some of the buildings into the composition. During the winter, I revised the buildings and even worked some on the blossoms using photographs. I have resolved the issues with the buildings, but lost a bit of the freshness of the blossoms. So, when that tree bloomed again the next year, out I went to have one more look and put back that freshness and life that you can only get working directly from nature. It’s always an interesting process, and I learned in this painting the importance of staying open to whatever the painting needs.  

Bye for now and I hope you all have an inspired month!