Starving Artist Forum

My latest listings on ArtFire includes this image. I call it Free Spirit. They had recently escaped their enclosure and were sauntering down the road past where we were. They appear to have no particular destination in mind, just cruising!

I have been playing with my photo editor and loved the old feel of this photo. It matched well in western decor with the sepia colors and old world grit. You can see more about it and my other listing in my artfire studio by going to http://www.artfire.com/users/artbybelle

Thanks for looking!

The horse is a beautiful animal, strong, often wild, and graceful. I have long been inspired by their lines and structure. They come in so many varied colors, patterns and sizes that is truly hard to find an end to this source.

I am also well know for my love of trees, cats (feral and domestic) and my family. So to tap into my inspiration seems an easy task. I am constantly surrounded by one or another of my passions and this keeps my creative focus sharp.

It is still, however, difficult to carve out time to devote to these endeavors and  I find time management low in my skill sets. Why is it that creative types are often the worst at maintaining schedules and deadlines? It is for that very reason that I chose a career outside my passion for art.

Whatever your choice, your inspiration should be easy to discover. It is the single element that relaxes you the most. The scene, place, person, or thing that fills your heart with pride and your soul with peace. We as humans are hard wired to appreciate the simple beauty of a sunset because real beauty is simple after all. We know that when we are born, somewhere along the way we loose track of it and buy into the commercialized version.

Artists have the task of bringing us all back to that innocent realization that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and is therefore open to interpretation. The basic truths still apply to beauty, and that is what truly inspires. The phrase "it is what it is" comes back to me. Inspiration should be the easiest thing in the world to find.

So sit back and take in the view around you. There is color, form, texture and light play all around you. It may be the way the last sunbeam is highlighting the pile of laundry you have yet to wash, but try seeing it with different eyes. Respect the simple truth that if a sunset can makes us feel tranquil, and a grand painting make us reflective, then the beauty of life itself should leave us, at the very least, inspired. What you do with that inspiration is up to you.