What inspires artists?
I believe inspiration is sourced directly from what we are passionate about in life, and our own world view that has shaped us by experiences. As artists, we are inspired to create something that is meaningful to us. For me, I am deeply inspired by the natural world, and the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, which has been my home for most of my life.
Dip pen sketches of mushrooms
I grew up deeply entrenched in the rhythms of the seasons and natural world. My dad took me camping, backpacking, and taught me to fly fish. He hunted in the fall, and friends introduced us to chanterelle hunting in the nearby forest. My best friend lived on a boat, and during the summer I would spend weeks with her as we traveled through the San Juan Islands. We had free rein to wander over the smallest islands, accessible only by boat. They pulled full crab pots up into the dingy, and we ate the fresh crab on the dock, throwing the shells into the ocean for the tiny fish to nibble on as they swirled down. In the Puget sound we saw orca whales and dolphins, and felt the fresh ocean spray us from the deck of the boat.
The same friends had a cabin in the woods up in the cascades, and we spend winter weekends there exploring the forest, hunting for clay babies by the river, and skiing on the mountain.
Cabin in the woods
All of these experiences have shaped who I am and what I hold dear to my heart. My dad gave me my first watercolor set when I was a senior in high school, and I still have it. I have loved art my whole life, majoring in Photography while I was at Shoreline Community College, and getting my A.A. I ended up switching my major to Wildlife Science, but in retrospect I probably should have stayed in the arts. Even with my major shift I stayed with my passion.
Recently I have been really inspired by mushrooms. I love their organic shapes, and wide range of colors. Fall is the time I really start thinking about mushrooms, because it is in the fall that the chanterelle mushrooms start to flush. Hunting for chanterelle mushrooms is like an earthy version of easter egg hunting, and is really fun. I hope to go in the next few weeks. For now, the nearby farm stand had a few, so of course I had to purchase some, for reference, and then to eat.
Someone once asked me what my favorite season is, and the honest answer is really each season. With the turn of the seasons there are new and unique experiences to be sought out, and painted!
