Inspiration is Everywhere!

You guys, I hear from a lot of people who get artist's block -- i.e. sit and stare at a blank page or canvas or piece of paper and just don't know what to do.  No worries!  Inspiration is all around us.  Let's talk about things you can use to get going:

Shopping For Clothes

I love the flowers on this child's dress.  Wouldn't it look great as a painting for the wall?  Or as inspiration for a stamp to carve?  Or maybe even as inspiration for your own adult-sized hand painted dress.

At the Garden Store

You could use these succulents as sketchbook fodder or steal the color palette:

I was surprised by the color palette that this site created -- more black than I expected.  But then I noticed the shelf.  The generated color palette made me look at the photo totally differently!  Isn't that cool?

At the Grocery Store

I like the simple illustrations on this packaging.  Sometimes I get really bent about a drawing being a certain way, but these very simple illustrations clearly convey what each item is.  Time to get out my sketchbook and simplify!

At the Fabric Store

Yes, I want to grab these fabrics and make a bag or an apron or a dress.  But, I also see some cool stamps I could carve inspired by the trees.  The feathers with text make me think of an art journal page.  The feathers also make me want to go home and take out my watercolors.  They're so soft and lovely.  They feel very sketchbook-y.

In Your House

Awesome shadow!  Wouldn't it make a great stencil?!  You could tape a piece of paper to the wall and trace the shadow.  You could even hold a canvas up to the wall and trace the shadow to create a starting point for a painting.  Plenty of artists use projection devices in creating their artwork.  This is nature's projection!

In the Greeting Card Section

I see an art journal page in this card.  The crown on the shark with the square around it should be a stamp.  I love the mixed font text -- definitely want to do that on an art journal page.  Look at the red rings at the bottom of the card.  They look like marks made with the end of a pencil eraser.  Also, this illustration makes me feel like I can draw in my own style and it's okay!

At the Hardware Store

Do you see sticks or do you see a pattern?  I see a cool pattern to recreate.

Here's the photo in black and white with the contrast turned up:

And now here it is with a few Photoshop filters and cropped to a smaller size:

And cropped even smaller and rotated:

Wouldn't that be a cool stamp?!  Or silkscreen?  Or patterned fabric?  

 The next time you're looking for artistic inspiration, try looking at what's around you!  

Thanks for stopping by!