Sources of Inspiration

"If I live a thousand years, I could not paint all the things that come into my mind."

- Charlie Russell, 1919

As soon as I read the quote above from Charlie Russell, I felt a kinship and an acknowledgement that as an artist, my work is never done. The quote also made me think about my sources of inspiration, and I was a bit surprised at the results of my reflection.

Certainly I'm inspired by nature - its light, its landscape and its living things. That all inspires me to want to paint. Sometimes I'm intimidated though, to begin or sometimes to finish, a painting. That's when I realized that I have a bigger source of inspiration that I really didn't expect when I began to paint, since I felt as an artist I was working on my own.

I am developing a network of people who inspire me to put brush to paper. From the person who invited me to view my art as a calling and a business, to the friends and family who provide me encouragement, to an ever-growing group of other artists who give feedback, share ideas, and organize time to paint, I now realize that other people are a huge part of my inspiration to paint.

On my own, I have the ideas for my art. With my network of inspiring people, I have the courage and support to put those ideas on paper.

Thank you to all of you who are my inspiration! Thank you for supporting my art.