Instant Artistic Inspiration
By Joanne Elliott, N2Arts Correspondent
How to tap into your creativity
 

t can sometimes be one of the hardest things in the world to get inspiration for a piece of artwork.  How many times do you feel like doing something creative, but don’t know where to start?  If you want to get the best out of your artistic talents, you’ve got to get inspired by something that you’ll enjoy re-creating in your own style.  And it isn’t as hard as it sounds!  Here are some top tips for discovering interesting subject matter that da Vinci would have been jealous of!

The Shape Shift.

If you like painting people, but get bored with the idea of a ‘straight’ self- portrait, try using the reflection of a spoon.  It’s quite hard, but it’s great fun!  You’ll notice how the features that you take for granted get distorted, so you’ll have one huge eye and a tiny forehead for example.  This is a great way to get inspired because it means that you’ll have to really draw what you see to make it work right. 

The Hodgepodge.

Why not make a collage out of your favorite posters, and draw on top of them?  Just get some old magazines and rip out the pictures that you think are cool.  This could be pictures of people, or patterns on the wallpaper in an advert, letters and titles, or even images of other artists work.  It’ll also look cool on your bedroom wall when you’ve finished!

Heaven Scent.

Pick your favorite food out, and try to draw what you smell.  You might well laugh, but you’ll be amazed at how much you’ll start thinking about how colors represent different things.  For example, pale light blue could mean cold, while strong deep red tones could mean danger.  Possibly the hardest artistic challenge is trying to represent the smell of chocolate.  This is one for all you brave artists out there!!

On the straight and narrow.

Try drawing an object or a person only in straight lines.  “She’s crazy, how can I draw something curved just with straight lines...?!” I hear you cry… but it is possible.  Don’t forget to think about your artwork logically.  You can work with little dashes or longer lines, and then use an eraser to shape the curves.  It’s probably best to do a very quick series of sketches to get you loosened up.  Just make sure you’ve got lots of paper!

Material World.

Try experimenting with different materials.  There are so many different things you can use… whether it be pencil, colored pencil, watercolor pencil, pastels, charcoal, oil paint, acrylics, watercolor paints, wax crayons… the list goes on.  You should try drawing the same object with all of these because they have different properties.  It is much easier to paint a sky in watercolor than with charcoal, for example.  And if you mix up the different art materials, the fun really starts!  You can create really interesting effects by putting water on charcoal, for example, or painting over wax crayon with a wash of watercolor paint.  No matter how good you are, I guarantee you’ll learn something new! 

Whatever tips you decide to try, just remember to work with something that interests you.  Don’t paint flowers if you think they’re boring!  Remember, this is art.  This is fun.  And for once, the only rules are that there are no rules!

Joanne Elliott is a professional international freelance writer who is published in several different formats in Canada, America, New Zealand and the UK. Joanne can be reached by email at joelliott45@yahoo.co.uk.