Someone asked me yesterday how I come up with ideas. It varies; sometimes an image or person inspires me and an extension of that floats round in my head for a while until it's time to put it down on paper:
With 'The Dress' I just knew I wanted to do a crazy dress that went on and on and had lots of detail and colour. It turned out nothing like planned, but it was fun, and I loved seeing how she emerged on the page. Ideas came to me as I was working on this and it only took a couple of evenings.
At other times I see a photo or video clip and that image sticks in my head, so like emptying the rubbish I have to sketch it quick, because it's not ground-breaking, it's just there, and will probably sit there getting in the way of my more creative stuff until I do jot it down. This, I have learnt, is the great importance of sketch-booking/journaling:
These legs 'broke-in' a new sketch book, but was pretty much taken from a photo I remembered seeing. It was good practice for body shape.
Then there are the ideas that sit deep in the soul and simmer there for months, sometimes years. They are the pieces that bring out the real 'drama queen artist' in me, when my husband asks me why that canvas has been sitting in the corner (getting in the way, gathering dust) for months I just vaguely mutter something like, 'I'm not sure which way it's going, I'm a bit stuck, I'll get back to it at some point' and waft out of the room.
To anyone who finds artists a bit weird and on another planet, this sort of piece will prove you right (see sunflower seeds above). That piece is like a tricky friend I really care about, we'll chat again soon, not sure where we're at but I know it will be difficult and I want to get it right.
Then there are the ideas that come straight from my kids - great fun:
And the ones that spill out, and develop, and surprise you with a huge theme like 'life and death':
This is 'The Fallen Ones', a larger canvas piece that is currently hanging in the Bentlif Gallery in Maidstone Museum - pop in and see The Bentif Open Art Prize, showing until 3rd May. It is a really fantastic variety of work and I am very excited to be part of it.
Thanks for reading!
