Inspiration is a 'funny' thing. Where does it spring from? What actually triggers that impulse we call 'inspiration'? I have been thinking about this because last week I was all set to go - sat in the studio, paper on the board, paints activated and brushes poised ......but then - what to paint? I realised that my mind was an absolute blank. Some people will say that my mind is always blank but it is very rare indeed that I haven't got some idea of a painting floating about in there. Was this the dreaded painter's block? It was late afternoon, too late to go paint outside. I had wandered into the studio really after a long day dealing with the everyday routine of 'ordinary' life. It had been very enjoyable just setting up the board and preparing to paint - a routine in itself, but now, looking at that blank white paper, I realised there was nothing there. I flicked through some photos I had on the iPad and worked my way through some old sketches but nothing came. So I just sat quiet enjoying the solitude and feeling very grateful that I had this lovely space to call my own... but nothing done.
The next morning I went with Merice and Bonnie for a stroll on the cliff tops. It was early (courtesy of a Staffordshire bull terrier jumping on our bed, who had decided it was time to get up!). It really was a beautiful morning, a bit cooler than the last few days with a mist out at sea that blurred the meeting of sea and sky.
A phrase sprung to mind - "form dissolving" - it came from a book I had read about JMW Turner by David Hill and that was the start of the process. Now my mind was racing with ideas - what if I do this, what if I do that? Merice recognised the symptoms and smiled as I returned to my studio and that blank white sheet of paper. Now I had to paint, simple as that. I had already decided on the walk home that I was going to paint this morning's scene from memory. So to work - "form dissolving" - Turner - work in layers - yellow first.
The next morning I went with Merice and Bonnie for a stroll on the cliff tops. It was early (courtesy of a Staffordshire bull terrier jumping on our bed, who had decided it was time to get up!). It really was a beautiful morning, a bit cooler than the last few days with a mist out at sea that blurred the meeting of sea and sky.
A phrase sprung to mind - "form dissolving" - it came from a book I had read about JMW Turner by David Hill and that was the start of the process. Now my mind was racing with ideas - what if I do this, what if I do that? Merice recognised the symptoms and smiled as I returned to my studio and that blank white sheet of paper. Now I had to paint, simple as that. I had already decided on the walk home that I was going to paint this morning's scene from memory. So to work - "form dissolving" - Turner - work in layers - yellow first.
No pencil sketch - just straight in with the yellow wash. Then when yellow totally dry (and only then!), a red wash over that, working in transparent glazes to build up the effect. I drew the cliffs in with the blue to be used for the 'blue' wash to anchor the composition and then added the darker clouds last. I carefully washed out the two lines to establish the horizon, finally adding a bit of colour to the cliffs just washing in the yellow, red and blue together to give overall balance and harmony to the painting. I thought about adding something to the foreground but decided against it apart from the suggestion of a few breaking waves - I liked the simplicity and the interaction of the colours. That very same morning before I set off for my stroll I had been talking to a fellow artist about a project she was doing - big skies, and a few days previously another friend and I had been discussing painting a scene together involving cliffs, wet beach and pink skies - perhaps these had also inspired me even if subconsciously.
Yes inspiration is a 'funny' thing. It can't be forced or controlled but when it does happen it stirs not just the eye and the hand...but also the heart.
Yes inspiration is a 'funny' thing. It can't be forced or controlled but when it does happen it stirs not just the eye and the hand...but also the heart.
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