Inspire (verb): Serve as the inciting cause of
What does it mean when an artist says they are inspired by another artist's work?
When I see an artwork that stops me in my tracks, that makes me have another look, then one more look, then one more, there is something that appeals to me, to my eye, to my creativity. But what is that something? Well, it could be anything... The composition? The colour palette? The mark-making? The textures? The subject itself, for example, a horse (of course)? How the artist has drawn/painted the subject. Perhaps it is the loose, gestural feel of the subject? Or the bold, fearless contrast of light/dark? The use of the medium(s) used? Or it could be all of the above (what a masterpiece)!
Being inspired is not the same as copying. Copying means you literally copy every single aspect of the artwork, and usually (as I have seen countless times) do not give credit to the original artist. And I know why... Who basks in the glory of all those likes/loves and comments on social media stating how amazing the artwork is! Or how amazing an artist you are! Yes! I am amazing! Yes, my art is amazing too! I'm not a fan of copying another artist's work, even more so when claiming it as your own. If you do copy, ensure it is for learning purposes only, (not for monetary gain) and CREDIT. It's that simple.
NOW! What I am a fan of is being INSPIRED by another artist's work. I would go so far as to say other artist's work is a big contributor to my own art, in that when I feel so damn inspired, I get the zoomies and want nothing more than to go head first, as fast as possible into my studio and start creating! Being inspired means studying the artwork, and perhaps also studying other artworks of the same artist. It means taking the elements that stand out for you, (again, this could be the colour palette or the gestural feel, etc.) and giving it a go in your own ORIGINAL artwork. I emphasise original as we are NOT copying, people! Saying that, we still give credit (such as 'Artwork inspired by such and such') when posting on social media, blogs, websites etc. as we have taken from that artwork/artist, almost as if we are borrowing those elements.
I know I am a visual learner, so I have shared a little project I did last year after I came across Italian artist, Carlo Romiti whilst cruising the Net one day seeking inspiration. I was stopped in my tracks. I had one look, and then twenty more. I visited his website (https://www.carloromiti.it/en/). I read about him and his art/technique. I study his works and asked myself what I loved about his art? I then set myself a project to give it a go myself... Not to copy but to allow his art to be my guiding light, my yellow brick road that I follow to get to the final destination.
"Bay with Red Soil" reminded me of cave paintings when I first saw it. After visiting Carlo's website, I read that he uses natural earth pigments that he collects to paint with. I loved that! Whilst I didn't have any natural earth pigments, I did have an acrylic ink that I had newly bought, (FW Acrylic Pearlescent Ink in Silver Moss) and wanted to try out. I used Art Spectrum Colourfix Original in Terracotta as my surface (one of my fave papers, ever!), 23cm x 30cm. I also used charcoal, graphite and pastel plus a stencil. I was inspired by a Christiane Slawik photo (for which I do have permission from Christiane to use her photos for my art) and off I went! I wanted to try and emulate Carlo's gestural feel with his paint and paintbrush and mark-making, plus the expression in the horse.
This was the result:
On reflection, once again my habit for more detail than I ever need has reared its pretty head. I can see my attempts at trying to keep it loose/gestural but they fall way short of Carlo's skill! I also think it may be a little too busy: I didn't follow the KISS rule: Keep It Simple, Stupid. I do love my use of sandpaper and scraping/scratching into the wet acrylic ink to get those yummy textures and marks. I love the use of the Alhambra stencil to add flair and aid the composition. I can also see the use of another stencil, one with text, which I like too. Whilst I like the pearlescent ink, it's not the beautiful earth pigments or colours that Carlo has used. Plus, the size of this artwork is small. For my next attempt, I will use an earthy colour palette, less detail (lets see how that goes *insert eye roll emoji*) no stencils... maybe one stencil (I love stencils!), and leave out more of the horse's form, like Carlo has.
Hopefully now you have a glimpse of insight into what it means to be inspired. The list is endless, limitless, as there are soooo many artworks and artists out there! I am proud to say, I too have been the one to inspire other artists over the decades. It's a lovely feeling when you are credited as inspiring others! One such example was receiving an email from a high school student in the UK who wanted to do her final exams on my art! Can you imagine how amazing that was! One of many defining moments in my almost 30 year career as an artist.
Being inspired is what makes us tick, motivates and lights a fire under our butts. Without inspiration, one could be stale, dull, stuck, lackless... our art too. To be inspired is to try, learn, and better ourselves, but most importantly, it is to evolve, explore and experiment, (my three favourite E's).
So, why not have a go yourself?