Blog O Sphere Think Tank for March What Inspires You

What inspires me..

Very often it is my immediate environment. Large open space in an art studio. The view. A thunderstorm. Street art. A strange film. A piece of mail. A song. Part of a story. My subject-matter. It all sets a mood.

I must have the right energy level to really get cranking in the art studio. Music (and coffee) usually does that for me. I listen to a lot of trance/electronic/dance when I paint. I listened to the song called "Grizzly Bear" (by Will Calls, remixed by Diplo) for the better part of two days while painting a large 40"x40" painting of a Kodiak Bear. (Painting pictured above, titled "Hondo Bear".) The heavy bass beats got me into bear painting.

Grizzly Bear- Will Calls (Diplo Remix)- https://soundcloud.com/diplo/will-calls-diplo-remix

Another time in the studio, I was listening to a song by Talvin Singh called "Butterfly", and the rhythm and beat of the music did something to my head. I could feel my brain wave patterns change. I went from verbal thought to nonverbal thought, and was thinking in color, shape and form. I guess it can be considered losing yourself in your work, your painting, your movement, in the process.

Butterfly- Talvin Singh- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYJhjatmO_s

My subject-matter inspires me. Subject-wise, a lot of my work is at least in part autobiographical. I will insert myself as a baby, or child into a painting with an animal, or animals from Central America. Experiences from my childhood become paintings this way. Sometimes I find a vintage black and white photograph (family or found photograph) that really resonates with me, and I paint its subject matter large with bright and brilliant colors. Sometimes it is a very strange image. Something that I can't quite figure out. Something I see and ask myself "What is happening here?!"

I found a vintage photograph of a little girl and a couple of goats. The girl is holding a piece of bread in her hand. Both she and one of the goats mouths are open in a scream. I asked myself "What is this?" I was fascinated and felt the need to paint it as a way of examining it. I titled the painting "Don't Eat My Toast!".

I love strange animals and plants. Marsupials. Patterns on animals. Patterns in nature. Polka dots. Stripes. Adding odd colors where there should be none. Rule breakers. Rule breaking.


What is this blog-sphere think tank?

Silversmith Andes Cruz formed a group of people who blog. People from all walks of life. Blog-Sphere Think Tank is a once a month blog-circle. Blog topics change monthly, and on the 20th of each month, we post a blog on the same topic. Check out what everyone else has to say on this month's topic:

Andes Cruz: https://andescruz.wordpress.com
Pallavi Gandhi: https://studioat605.wordpress.com/
Marie Bell: http://www.pencilfox.com
Kathleen Krucoff: https://kathleenkrucoff.wordpress.com/
Tosca Teran: http://nanopod.me/2015/03/11/inspiration
Catherine Witherell: http://happydayart.typepad.com
Beth Cyr: http://bethcyr.com/blog/
Allegra Sleep: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/allegra-sleep.html?tab=blog
K. Skiles Studio: http://kaskiles.com
Shelagh Blatz: http://www.designsbyshelagh.com/blog