Look up!

   As an artist, I am always seeking new inspiration. The sea, changing, sparkling, foamy, and shining in the sunlight, or leaden, heavy, and dangerous at night. Clouds looming up on the horizon, their fluffy tops piled onto invisible platters like a giant plate of whipped cream. The watchful eyes and tensed muscles of wildlife as it stands, close enough to be seen, yet ready for flight. The shifting shape of an old tree as the wind makes waves of its foliage during a storm. And of course the faces of people, average people, going about their days, as they relax and drop their masks on long bus rides. Private joys and pain laid bare as time hangs heavy, crawling slowly forward, stop by stop. Next stop, Wienerstrasse....

   But Nature, human, animal or landscape, is not always enough to spark that passion which results in a need to create. Often the creations of other human creators is just what tips the scale, causing me to run for canvas and bushes. These moments of awe while standing in a magnificent cathedral or a well-planned garden. The sudden combination of colors in a photoshoot or restaurant, graffiti on the side of an industrial building contrasting with the chic cafe in front of it.

 In fact, the hundreds or thousands of small things we see while traveling but often miss at home.

  But what about those who don't or can't travel. What about the dry spells in between. Those long winter months of routine, hard work and grey weather. Inspiration begins to ebb. The clouds hang heavy, obscuring the sun, the water toils past, and bored people sit with bored faces, void of expression, on seemingly endless trips, criss crossing back and forth across town.  What then? How can you spark inspiration, that fleeting, shimmering, mirage?

    Two years ago I was asking myself this question, stymied in front of my laptop as I scrolled through pintrest, pinning random, pretty images, waiting for that magic feeling- Inspiration. But it eluded me. Visible, but just out of reach. The pictures I pinned were nice, certainly beautiful, but were they worth devoting hours, days, even weeks to? I couldn't decide. And that inability to do so signaled that they, in fact, weren't.

  And so I devised a system which has worked well for me since. I adjust my sight. First, in mentality, I have become a tourist in my own city. Looking for the odd, interesting and unique. I look at guidebooks and trip advisor and try new cafes, walk down new streets. And I have found almost endless inspiration. I could paint just from Graz for a lifetime. I don't want to, as that wouldn't leave me enough time for my beloved Italy, but I could. And second, literally. I have noticed that without a plan to observe most people, myself included, just look straight ahead, focusing on the middle distance. Thinking about where they are going or just about something else altogether. Many actually look at the ground while they walk.


So here are my tips for seeing more-

Look up:

 

Or conversely Look down: 

This is a picture of a leaf I picked up at the bus stop.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BoGvpe7FjC0/?taken-by=sarahloeckerart
Click on the link to view it in instagram

Look for patterns and texture:

Seek out pops of color or contrast:

Find collections:

 Look far off:

 Or close up:

And finally, and interestingly enough I didn't actually take any pictures for this category,

public art:

  For every new building built here in Austria at least, a percentage of the overall costs are designated to buying art for said building. The budget is fairly significant considering the price of buildings these days.  I recently toured the newly acquired art installations at the new medical school campus. These works are public. Many are easily viewable, so why not go out and look for public art? Not all of it will appeal to you, I can remember a few modern pieces of statuery purchaces by the city in which I used to live which were so unattractive that they began to recieve nicknames from the citizens of that city. But there will be pieces that you do like, but even if you don't they might at least spark ideas upon which to build.



In this age of instagram updates, there really is no reason why we should not go through life actively seeking the beautiful and inspirational around us.  Almost everyone has a phone in hand throughout the day, and that phone has a camera- so use it:)

Where do you find inspiration? Have you ever been out activily looking for it?

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