Where should artists look for inspiration?

This is a question I get a lot when being interviewed. It usually comes in one of several forms:

• What inspires you?
• Where do you get your inspiration?
• As an artist, what should I do to get inspired?
• What would you suggest to use as a source of inspiration

There are, of course, more ways to ask that question, but those are what I found from past interviews that I have done. In fact, it is usually the first question I get asked in an interview.

Inspiration is naturally quite important when it comes to art. It's the starting point of every artwork. Though it doesn't necessarily need to be something profound. Sure, you can be inspired by something like the universal struggle of good against evil, but you might also be inspired by something as simple as an unusually located tree you saw on the drive home. Sometimes it's the little things that inspire the best art.

Now, there are lots of sources for inspiration, but I find that one tops them all when you are an artist, particularly a representational artist, and that is reading. When you read, you visualize scenes in your mind. For an artist, this can be like doing push-ups for the brain. You're training yourself to construct images in your head. Naturally, fiction tends to work better for this as the author has to describe scenes relevant to the story using words. These words become the basis for you to create your mental visualization. However, certain types of non-fiction can work, too. For instance, I often rely on articles about paleontology to get ideas as they often not only describe creatures like dinosaurs, but also the environments that they lived in.

Of course, when it comes to inspiration, reading also introduces people to the ideas and concepts of the writer. Obviously, these too can serve as inspiration for the artist. After all, the most read book of all time, the bible, is the source of millions of pieces of art.

So, if you find yourself suffering from a lack of inspiration, if you just can't come up with any good ideas for a new painting, if your drawings seem a bit too repetitive or dull, then go grab a book.

Regards,
Daniel

P.S. Don't forget to visit my gallery: Daniel Eskridge.com!