The Mundane #1

#1

Sewer Pipe

I've been watching one of my favorite illustrators and motivational inspirationalists <is this even a word??> over the past few years, Her work is amazing and I'm humbled to have her as my mentor. Patricia Saxton (visit her blog here) has a very focused lifestyle when it comes to creating artwork. She is way more focused than I am. She inspires a  creativity in me from her artistic style, and from her dedication. She smiles across the digital plain of our current lifestyle and shines her brilliance onto everyone I've ever talked with who knows her. Not only that, she's family and that warms my heart.

She has a focused project called 52 Weeks of peace that is now at week #71 and is working on another series called a plethora of P's which is just as impressive from a design and artistic creativity standpoint. I revere her dedication and would like to start my own dedicated series.

This Mundane Project is now underway and I'll be focusing on taking photographs, designing posters, creating illustrations of things we see everyday and overlook the artistic value of their functionality. My goal is to inspire art and show that even the most trivial things can be viewed in a slightly different way... an artistic way. My hope is that through this i can inspire everyone to not take the things we have in our life for granted and appreciate the everyday with a bit more of an open view.

Now I admit, that as of now my artistic style is very retro washed-out. Instagram.. I was making pictures like this before it was cool, that's just how photographically hipster I am. :\ but that's besides the point. I don't really need to prove to my audience that i can do this.. I want... in fact, I need to do this for myself to prove that i can still live in this hectic world and have a focus centered on my passion for art.

Patricia, if you're reading this, THANK YOU!! You inspire more than you can ever imagine, and I can't wait to see where this project will lead me.

Inspired and excited....

John-

Creativity of art - Ideas for inspired art

There are many ways to come up with creative art ideas, and there are many articles on creativity that you'd be able to find out there. Inspiration for art is sometimes very difficult to come by especially when you have artist block. Getting over the hump and finding this is what makes a good artist.

I for one have found many ways of becoming inspired to create and i'll share a short list of the things I do to come up with these creative art ideas in the following article.

1. How do you feel?

• Lean on your emotional state to find the inspiration. if you're happy, sad, angry, desperate, lonely, excited.. GO WITH IT. You'll be designing inspired artwork that is based around these emotions and it will be easy to just flow into a piece.
• Think color! What color would you associate with this emotion? Use the base color to continue your inspired art project. Also think of what would have caused that emotion, it could end up being the subject of the art piece you are about to create.
• Don't be afraid to delve into that emotion a bit and find other art that draws that emotion out of you. For instance, if you have a serene and humble emotion at the beginning of your artistic exploration you might want to go check out some calm landscape paintings, or some japanese art pieces (i've always found japanese prints to be serene). 
• What other activities can you imagine that would center around that emotional state that might give you some creative art ideas? Perhaps if you're angry you might listen to some heavy metal music, or think of someone who really angered you off in the past. 

In short, the way you feel really plays on how your art will turn out, so no matter how you feel, use it to your artistic advantage and you'll be creating masterpieces in no time.

2. OTHER ARTISTS

• I'm not suggesting you recreate and plagiarize from an other artist. That would be a very expensive art mistake and could land you with a hefty copyright fine. who wants that??! What I mean is the styling's of some of your favorite artists can inspire a creative art piece. Just be humble enough to know that you most likely wont be creating an expensive art piece that sells for millions of dollars at an auction just because you followed the style.. though you may.. who knows?
• Talk with other artists, go out and find an art forum to discuss and ask questions like what you're trying to find here. "What are your inspirations for art?" "What helps you to focus on your creative ideas for art?" "Where do you look for art inspiration?"... Things like that can be asked and most artists I know are willing to help with some tips and tricks that will help create inspiration for your own pieces.

There are a lot of creatives in the world and a lot of people that are willing to help, look around and you'll start finding inspiration through this community.. we're all kind of nice people.. well most of us are, anyway.

3. The things you read can inspire.

• They say (I don't know who they are, but i'm sure they do say it) that a picture paints a thousand words. Sometimes the opposite can be true and you might find inspiration in a thousand words, then again you may find it in a six word quote. I've found inspirations for art in the strangest places; writing on bathrooms walls, an excerpt from a food recipe, the tagline for a beer commercial.. What i'm saying is that the words that you read on a daily basis could help you become inspired in some very unique ways.
• A good source of art inspiration has come from poems, and great literary works. Perhaps the book you're currently ready does a magnificent job at defining a scene that it burns an image into your mind. Remember THAT IS inspired art. Your mind created that imagery through the help of the writers words. Don't discount the way your mind works when it is engaged in reading. Its a writers job to help inspire this creative side of your mind, why not exploit it a bit and pull your art inspiration from this experience?

The older i get the more i read and the more i read the more i become inspired and empowered to create art. 

So there you have it.. a few simple tips to get you started on art creation, art inspiration and finding creativity for art of any kind that you may feel a passion for. Now go out there and get some inspiration.

John-