Finding Inspiration

We were strolling around, several artist friends and I, in quiet Scivally Park in Cape Girardeau feeling the atmosphere and looking in all directions for an inspirational scene to paint. We were painting en plein air, an innovative technique that began with the Impressionists who painted outdoors in sunlight to capture the true colors of light in nature. I was remembering the words of plein air painter Joaquin Sorolla: “Color is best seen outdoors in nature, for without light, there is no color.”

As we walked, some of us took photos, and some of us framed images with our hands, attempting to capture just the right scene to devote the next two hours to painting. I scanned over the iconic stone bridge everyone adores, the tall lovely trees, the playground and the small creek where you can see rocks and minnows. All of this I have painted before, and so I decided I needed to wander off the beaten path.

I stopped and looked up into the trees. There it was! Above me, I saw a circle of clear blue sky surrounded by dark tree leaves. This reminded me of Georgia O’Keeffe’s painting “The Lawrence Tree.”

She, too, had been out walking one day looking for inspiration. She paused to rest and lay down upon a bench where she then looked up through the tree into the sky. There, she found her scene to paint that day.

When I found my scene to paint, I remembered how when I was a child, I would lean way back in a swing and look up into the sky through the trees. I felt like I was flying with freedom and joy. What a wonderful experience. I wanted to capture that feeling, and so, I began to paint. One of my favorites, that painting always reminds me of what Leo Tolstoy said: “By words, one transmits thoughts to another; by means of art, one transmits feelings.” I can still recall that childhood feeling when I look at that painting.

Recently, one of my students drew a picture of what she wanted to paint from her imagination. It was a girl on a swing surrounded by clouds of many colors. She said it made her feel free. Children always have a knack for finding inspiration in feelings.

Tapping into childlike feelings one night at Drawing Group, I did a contour drawing of our live model. Contour drawing allows the mind to be focused on the process so one can actually let thoughts float by, as in a dream. The model’s position reminded me of lying on the grass in the summer and gazing lazily up at the puffy white clouds floating by. Later, that drawing was inspiration for a fun painting of just such a scene with the figure done as a transparent contour on grass below a cloud-filled cerulean sky.

This leaves us with a quote from Leonardo da Vinci: “Every now and then, go away, have a little relaxation.” Perhaps while looking up into the trees or watching clouds, you will have a moment of inspiration.

Remember to capture that feeling of joy each day.