Finding Your Art Inspiration
My first introduction to artwork was at school, where I was shown grand old masterpieces. They usually depicted the Tudors, Henry XIII and sometimes women in puffy dresses. They were dark, and I honestly found them quite boring and a little haunting. I did not feel drawn to that world at all.
I thought that if I wanted to be an artist then I had to learn to like this kind of art. I tried to be interested in it, and I did find interesting things about it - like the warped skull at the bottom of the The Ambassadors by Hans Holbien the Younger.
But it does not inspire me.
For a long while I struggled to find artwork that made me feel something inside.
Years later, still in school another new teacher showed me some Rembrandt drawings. There was this tiny quick pen and ink sketch of a women cradling her baby. It was done so fast, yet with such precision. It captured the atmosphere beautifully. It wasn’t a perfectly rendered photographic copy, instead it conveyed emotion.
Mother and child 1606-1669 Rembrandt van Rijn, Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
I felt something when I saw this drawing. The women seemed so gentle and delicate, you could tell she was completely wrapped up in the moment with her child. I realised I was feeling the drawing, it was conveying an emotion to me. This was the first time a piece of art really moved me, where I truly understood the power of drawing.
After having this reaction, I finally decided I wanted to be an artist. I was inspired.
So you don’t have to like all artwork, in fact you can really detest some. Just look for what inspires and rings true to you. You don’t have to like what others tell you to, or what you’re ‘supposed to’ like.
Jan Cornelisz Sylvius, the Preacher 1644-1645 Rembrandt van Rijn, Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
The Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee 1606 - 1669 Rembrandt van Rijn, Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
Find what brings up your spirit up. That should bring some inspiration to you.
This small drawing is my inspiration.
What artwork inspires you? Let me know in the comments