FINDING INSPIRATION
Inspiration is everywhere! How you harness it and allow it to help you become creative is all up to you. It’s scary to unleash inspiration and present it to the world.
I think I really became inspired by visual art when I was introduced to the surrealist artist Salvador Dali. I went on a high school field trip to the Dali Museum when I lived in Dunedin, Florida and it made a lasting impression. Up to that point I never dreamed of picking up a paint brush but that didn’t stop me from admiring and falling in love with art.
Soon after diving into Dali, Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock were two other artists I discovered and their art spoke to me in ways I’ve never felt. It was the first time visual art touched me in a way music does. And let me tell you, I’m a freaking music nut!
In my late teens and early twenties as I admired art, it was the written word that I felt I was the most confident with in communicating my inspirations. I began writing poetry at a feverish pace which was inspired by everything around me. Youth, adult discovery, music, color, love, sex, drugs, work, politics and more. Life was like a smorgasbord of words to be devoured and turned into art.
As the years moved on the output of writing decreased. I moved from a couch surfing, keg standing college dropout to a life as a radio broadcasting professional. And let me tell you, I use the term professional very very loosely. When part of your gig revolves around having to wear a thong bikini while running across a bridge in Portland, OR, the term professional takes on a whole new meaning.
Radio did afford me a huge opportunity to not only channel my inspiration but help me learn different creative ways of expressing the inspirations. From writing parody commercials and crazy themed poetry to audio soundscapes to talk over while broadcasting. Radio was interesting as I was trying to let pop culture and politics inspire me to be creative in producing content for a radio show. There was almost a forced sense of manufacturing of inspiration to help develop content for radio consumption. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it and it was and is a total gas working in the radio world.
I never forgot my love of visual art as the years drifted by, one by one. I always had an inner yearning to see if I could paint. Taking my inspirations and emotions and expressing them with color on a canvas was always in the back of my mind. A few years ago I received some paints and a couple canvases and I had no choice but to finally give painting a try.
I had no expectations and to be quite honest I never thought I would be allowing my work to be viewed by the public or friends. I instantly fell in love with painting. It allowed me an outlet to let me emotions and inspirations pour out of my soul. I was channeling everything that inspired me in life, simple things like a sunset or the smell of freshly cut grass. Or a fading memory of a walk on the beach and the sound of the ocean makes when waves crash on a rocky shore.
As I continue to explore visual art and grow as an artist I really hope anyone who reads this takes a chance on trusting their soul, emotion and inspiration to do something creative. Wether it’s painting, writing, making music… Whatever it is, it’s good for your soul.
Thank you for reading
Noah