Finding Motivation

I am in a similar rut David,,,, but for you I would suggest a trip to town or downtown whatever the case may be and bring along your camera. Treat yourself like you are the tourist visiting YOUR area,,, look at it all through new eyes,,,, visit a couple of sites and take lots of photos. Something is bound to inspire you! :>)

David, I love your flower paintings!! Do more of those! Finding motivation and inspiration is never hard for me, it's just finding the time and energy to get out there that is the hard part. Something else always seems more important.

Thanks, Diane and Patricia, for the suggestions.

I broke out the paints today to paint the edges of one of my gallery wrap canvases. That is the best I've got right now. I've got the blahs.

Go for an afternoon drive. There are probably a 100 spots within 50 miles of where you live that would make great subjects.

I have tried everything too David but finally got to work today by pulling out something unfinished and completely ruining it,,, haha,,,, BUT,,,, I did SOMETHING. :>)

You should try different things, like do drawing, watercolor sometimes trying different medium will help you to see thing with a fresh eyes and ideas.

Good idea, Lynn.

Diane, part of the problem is that my last painting was very different for me. It was an impressionistic European cityscape. I'd love to do another one of those, but I have no more photos like that and I do not live in Europe, so I cannot take more photos (right now). The thought of going back to the same old same old gives me the blahs.

Alfred, I thought about taking a watercolor class. That is not a bad idea.

Here's a suggestion if it tickles your fancy...

It could be made in a post impressionist style and it is a city view of Haarlem (The Netherlands). There is 3 more in this series, perhaps one of the others...

I agree with Diane...use your own environment to inspire you. You'd be surprised the many things you see differently each time you return to the same places. Good luck.

Go outside, draw from what's around you. "I" find nothing wrong with painting from my own photographs - but you get tied to them - rather than to the world that is all around you every day.

Xoanxo, I'm not going to paint from one of your digital images, if that is what you mean. Those are yours. My rule is I have to take the photo I paint from. That is how it works for me.

I live in the desert southwest, and I've never really been into southwest art, cacti and such. However, if I'm looking for colorful cityscapes, I might consider one of the old mining towns turned artist communities around here, like Jerome or Bisbee. That is an idea.

Thanks David, I didn't know that rule, sorry!

Having said that..."I might consider one of the old mining towns turned artist communities around here" sounds pretty good to me!!!

Bisbee actually is a great idea. Kind of a strange town.

The other thought I had is maybe heading up to Flagstaff and taking some Route 66 photos. That is far from here though, and I might have to wait until Spring, since they are drenched in snow.

Try getting REAL close to something, or under, or above.

A different POV?


I find that if I am not in the creative mood, it seems to be pointless to try and force it.

I also find that if I wait long enough...it comes to me and the desire is strong/

Every now and then I get that feeling that perhaps I need a vacation from my photography. So I finally started to learn the piano. Somehow I don't feel the same stress - perhaps its because I'm not doing it to become a professional but because its just something I wanted to do. But by doing something else creative, I've got my desire back to start imaging again. New equipment never did it for me, but I have have three "serious" photo trips planned and am excited. Just something about exploring something else in the arts helped me to break my creative imaging block. I have other "hobbies" but my right and left brains don't talk to each other:).

Even something like going to the art museum or local galleries or in my case learning a new art form can be of help I think.

Jeff, that is a good idea. Last year, I went to the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, in Las Vegas. They had an exhibit of Monet and some of his contemporaries. I was struck by two things. First, not so much the landscapes, but the cityscapes inspired me. Second, the play between complementary colors inspired me, particularly yellow and purple. Both those ideas showed up in my last painting.

Why do we feel so guilty when we are not motivated ?
I prefer to work when I feel that I can do nothing else. Sometimes Left brain needs to give Right brain a rest.
Do you do carpentry David ? ( i think I recall seeing a work bench in one of my prior visits to your page . ? ) Go build something !
when your passion returns it will be fresher than ever.

This art and story was my latest motivator.
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/adonna-khare-elephants-artprize

I may have an idea to get me out of my rut. It is not much of one, and not even that original, but it is something. I may need to go to the florist tomorrow.