Do you ever go down the rabbit hole looking at other people’s art? I do! Next thing I know I’m five years deep in their timeline stalking them like a lovesick teenager! I’m fascinated with other artist's journeys and processes. Sometimes this leads to great inspiration and sometimes it takes me way off course. It’s a fine line I walk between inspiration and madness. I went off on a tangent this past week that led me directly to crazy town! That's a place I like to go when I am artistically stuck and making a bunch of crap. Sometimes I think it's easier for me to emulate other artists creations than work through my own obstacles. I will obsess over their color palette, materials, subject matter and composition. Usually it's an artist that works in the same medium as me and I'm familiar enough with the materials that I think 'I could do that".
This usually ends in one of two ways. One way is with me succeeding and then left feeling guilty and ashamed. I mean it's not really my work, I basically took their idea and tried to make it mine. It may look good but it's not me, like when I try and wear pearls😁. The other outcome is a total fail. I usually realize before I get too deep that I am spending way too much time and money trying to duplicate someone else's creation. Either way it always leads me back to my own methods. The AHA moment of wait a minute! I know what I'm doing, big goof. Go back, slow down, look at your art, what do you have there? Years of experience cultivating your own techniques. Why try to reinvent the wheel? Sometimes we all get a little lost and off track. We all make crap, that's part of the process. Sometimes we recycle that crap and it turns out to be one of our favorite pieces. Sometimes we go down the rabbit hole only to resurface on the other side inspired and ready to create.
Once I popped my head out of the hole I took on the project below. First, just sit and prime some panels, tape up the sides. The mundane things that get my hands working on something I know and I am familiar with. Then I take a walk, breathe deep and look around. What do I see, what connects with me, what makes my heart beat a little faster. Heads clear and I'm ready, I can feel it.