Inspiration comes in many forms. We receive inspiration through what we see mainly. Most artists need to be visually stimulated in order to create a piece. They need to see the colors and textures they would love to apply to their piece. Some crop and arrange photographs to get the form and idea they are looking for. Music also plays into inspiration for some. Some artists put on their favorite music and it seems to direct the shapes and color of their mood. A different genre of music can change the size and shape of the piece. I know when I am listening to punk or some kind of rock group or set of music it gives me bright colors and hard edges. My boldness comes out. I feel alive so my pieces come out very vivid. IF I listen to classical music I feel a sense of calm and my pieces tend to come out very relaxing and soothing colors. Soft edges and flowing lines. Not so erratic. You get the idea. Music can dramatically change the look of the piece.

I know of artists that use drugs as a way of inspiring them to create a more colorful piece. They are releasing their fears and limiting themselves. All their artistic inhibitions are removed and they feel free to use any and all forms of creativity without fear. The farthest I have delved into that sort of inspiration or at least I can say it was more like an aid. I had the idea but I needed to relax. Same thing. I used alcohol. Still a drug. But tamer than say..crack or something. It is not any more or less morally wrong. It still alters one senses. It is still considered a drug. I have been able to recently get myself into that state of mind where I feel like I am high by the happiness I fill myself up with. Appreciation that I can create. The chemical our body injects naturally from being happy is like a drug. It is so powerful and strong it can sustain you for longer periods of time. Our mind consciousness can take form and thought or feeling we want convincingly directing our moods. We can believe anything we want and we are so powerful that it can actually materialize. Ok. I don't even understand what I just wrote.

Inspiration also can come from pain. Art can be used in a therapeutic way. We can release al the stress in our lives by creating. In this way our art tends to carry the subject matter of how our pain was passed on to us reading more like a dream sequence. We can tell a lot of an artists by looking at their works. We sometimes get so wrapped up in our pain that we are blinded by it and that is all we have to hold on to and we feel comfort from keeping that pain. It is like an addiction. We feed off of that hurt and sub-consciously we feel like it is a part of our being. This is untrue. We do not need it. It doesn't belong. \

There are other senses we use to inspire our creativity that trigger imagery and ideas. Our touch and smell. We can feel texture and feel inspired to incorporate that into our pieces as an interesting addition to a piece. We can take a deep breath of fresh air in the morning and feel compelled to create. We can smell natures scent and be inspired to paint the countryside or a beautiful smelling flower. Or smell death and create something gothic and scary. I know I am rambling like I usually do...but you get the point. We do not need to be so narrow minded to think our only inspiration comes from looking at pictures online. Get out and see the world with all your senses and explore your creative side. Feel compelled to create from life. It is all around us. We just have to open up.