Artsz.org

Todays modern artists draw their inspiration from many different places, including some that we probably never would have thought of, and maybe the artist himself may not have even thought of it. One artist I came into contact with recently said she had been drawing cemetery stones.

On further research I found that this is not the only person that is drawn to cemetery stones, in fact there seem to be a few artists and photographers that have an interest in cemetery stones. Some became interested in cemeteries because of a tragedy that affected them, a loved one passing away. Others just took an interest in the interesting statuaries in some of the cemeteries, especially older cemeteries in France, and Italy. These artists don’t see the painting or photography of tombstones as morbid, but they see it as a part of life. After all death is also a part of life. These artists and photographers may be curious about death and about the way we leave it. These artists see these headstones and statues as invincible, solitary, standing against time.

A saying I once read … that made me ponder as to what humanity is… was written by Margaret Laurence. She said:

“Know that although in the eternal scheme of things you are small, you are also unique and irreplaceable, as are all your fellow humans everywhere in the world.”

I believe that no one understands that saying better than an artist, that may be why so many artists are drawn to portrait, and figure work.

Most artists are fascinated by people, their expressions, their life, their lifestyle, and even the way people play, work and yes… even sleep. Its as if the artist himself, stands outside of the ongoings of humanity and looks in, as if he were looking at humanity through a looking glass or a window, what he sees can be fascinating, and alluring, drawing our attention away from ourselves and into what he sees. An artist can see sorrow, joy, hope and despair, where others note nothing amiss, and nothing different from any other person. As in the work of Casey Toussaint who gets her inspiration from train rides, people walking down the street or just by sitting in a quiet spot and pondering and looking at people and their expressions

It is an artist’s hand, that when taken to paper, can transpose these images, and let the rest of humanity see what he or she sees. An artist can find inspiration in other people’s faces and expressions, even while sleeping, dreaming or off in wandering thoughts. It is an artist’s ability to transcribe these feelings and show us the value of our own humanity, our own frailty, and our own emotions.

Artists have many more tools and subjects they can use in their art, than they ever did before. Since the age of technology came upon us, art and what artists paint and the tools artists use in their work has greatly changed. Today most artists use a combination of computer technology, digital photography equipment and other types of electronic equipment to help them acquire the basis they need to start their creative work. This new equipment means that some of the new artists are looking at subject matter that previous artists would never have thought of. They use streets, night scenes, traffic life and city life to inspire them in their creativity.

Younger artists use cars and motorcycles, different light settings, etc and represent these images onto their digital cameras to later use as reference for their oil, acrylic and even abstract and mixed media work.

A great example of an artist who does this type of work is Simon Collins. Artists even as far back as the 1930’s and 40’s would not, and could not use such subjects for creative inspiration, there just wasn’t the technology available to do it.

As Thoreau put it so well “The world is but a canvas to the imagination.” Today it seems that all contemporary art, portrays the world we live in, and say something about the state of being. If we pay close attention to these art pieces, it would seem that the future of mankind is bleak.

The art of today depicts the horrors of war, of hunger of poverty, of mans disparity toward each other. What is the purpose of such art, one might ask? The purpose of the artist in showing us this despair and negativity is to provoke a reaction from society, a reaction to change the world around them, to make things better. The purpose of this art is to show us how beautiful the world is and how we manage to destroy it. It is a way of inspiring us to bring about change.

In essence art is not made just to imitate life, inspire hope, or to show beauty, although it can certainly do this too. But art is also made to inspire change, give us a glimpse of what our future might be, and warn us of things to come.

Art of every type is made to inspire, give hope and remind us in the beauty that can be and that is in all things.

Paintings give an insight into the artists’ character and thoughts. Some creators are inspired by beauty of wilderness, others by splendour, an abundance of colours, or by stark reality of pain, hunger and misery. Whatever the artists inspiration to create his paintings he finally gives something to the audience that holds them spell bound by what they see on the canvas.

An artist has a visualisation that is like a third eye for him that gives an ingenious depiction of what he perceives and this is what he portrays to the observer by way of his creativity. Landscaping paintings which might be of astonishing locations or harsh reality come alive with the artists view of what lies before him. It is the artist’s perception that he lays before the observer. The viewer is transported into a dream world where he can loose himself to his fantasies and forget about his own humble dwellings. He travels on wings to distant lands and places of untold beauty and with a little imagination can weave a tale of visions and be in a trance until he awakens when he wishes to awaken and not before that.

Charcoal artists can take their inspiration from virtually any object of everyday life. It could be the outdoor landscapes, a person or an inanimate object like a book or a cupboard. It could even be an emotion like anger, love, respect which then take a certain definite form and get transmitted onto paper. Some may consider this medium as a limitation given the fact that no color can be used. However portrait artists who have regularly been using charcoal love the wide variations in tonality that it provides. Right from depicting deep lines on an old man’s face, to the numerous impressions on the bark of an old tree – the possibilities in variation are virtually limitless. With practice many portraitist have found that this medium actually lends itself much better. The numerous possibilities in shading and shadow effect can create a final painting which has mystery and charm in it. In fact, black and white paintings can stir more emotion than a color painting.

Most often the inspiration for most oil portrait artists came from everyday instances and people around. Often flowers in a painting were used for more complex purposes. In paintings such as the Pre-Raphaelite by Millais of Ophelia the flowers present around her aren’t just for decorative purposes. They have been used to convey much deeper meaning. To name a few, crow flowers symbolise ingratitude, the weeping willow represent forsaken love, the nettles symbolise pain and daisies floating near her right hand represent innocence.

Thus oil portrayers of those times created a mental imagery of complex emotions and used everyday people to represent these.

By Inspiration we mean the ability to seek divinity, an elevating thought or concept from everyday objects. In art this refers to an ability to look for a deeper meaning in a particular subject. For example, a colorful bird could provide inspiration for an entire forest to be created. Usually the inspiring thought is abstract in nature and relates to an intangible feeling or thought. For example, sunrise could inspire the feeling of tremendous happiness in an artist, which then leads him to create an entire concept based on happiness.