Inspiration — The Art of the Matter

I am finally starting to paint again! I have missed it - and while there’s been the issue of missing inspiration, there’s also been the issue of missing time recently. I have been busy with work and other things these days.

I’ve often felt that I don’t have enough of a “signature style”. While I recognize this is probably partially me being too hard on myself - it’s also pushed me to study unique styles that are different than mine.

The elements and subjects I’m drawn to certainly haven’t changed - beach, ocean, tropics, florals, bright colors and shimmering lights - but I want to try more “loose” styles of painting. My work thus-far has been more realistic, but I want to push myself to see real scenes in a more impressionistic way.

Anyways - a big part of this is doing studies of work that I love and admire. Here are a couple artists that I am studying at the moment:

Sari Shryack, Austin, TX (http://www.sari.studio/)
C. Brooke Ring, Greenville, SC (https://cbrookering.com/)

I’m trying to pay attention to basic elements like light/dark, color values, and looser strokes. I hope to get better at breaking down what I see into these elements rather than just taking a photo and copying it to the best of my ability!

Here are the pieces I am currently painting an interpretation of:

I love them!! Bright, tropical, fun, loose…such a different style than what I usually paint. Both of these ladies have an INCREDIBLE body of work and such distinct styles - I encourage you to browse through their online galleries.

Anyways - I am slowly but surely making progress on my versions of these beauties - I can’t wait to share! :)

As I’ve mentioned here before, I love to write.

Several years ago, I began writing a fiction novel (still not done!) and was working a lot on my fiction writing skills. In that process, I came across The Rehoboth Beach Reads Short Story Contest. A small publisher in Rehoboth Beach, DE puts this contest on every year. A handful of judges read all contest entries, pick their favorites, then a collection of the winning short stories is published.

Lest you think this is completely random - yes, I live in Atlanta, but I was born in Delaware. And when my maternal grandparents were still alive, our family used to go visit them at Rehoboth Beach every year. So many of my favorite, magical childhood memories live in that place.

Anyway, I entered two stories into the contest a couple years ago. One of them was a finalist, but did not make it into the book. That rejection was hard for me at the time, but it actually inspired me to start my company, The Write Shop. (That’s a story for a different day).

In any case, since I haven’t been inspired to PAINT during this pandemic, I found myself writing more often - for work AND for fun. And so, I dusted off one of my former submissions (the one that didn’t make it), and wrote a new story to submit to this year’s contest.

A few months later and … I got one of the most fun phone calls I have ever received: one of my stories is going to be published in this year’s book, titled “Beach Mysteries”. (Check out this local announcement - my name in the paper! swoon!)

And just this week, I finished the process of working with a real editor to go through my story with a fine-toothed comb. I really enjoyed the process - I know it will make me a better, more conscientious writer moving forward.

The book is set to be published in November. As luck would have it, we actually have a trip planned to Rehoboth Beach this year because my Uncle, who is one of the most talented painters I know, has his own art exhibit at the Rehoboth Art League. Sadly, I will be in town BEFORE the book is actually published, but it still feels serendipitous to me. :)

I will be back to post pictures of our trip, and (hopefully) find some missing inspiration for my own paintings!