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In your own back yard

Do you put off doing your art because you can’t afford to travel to an exotic location for inspiration? Well, get over it. Most of us will never have an unlimited budget to wander the world at our leisure.

Not being able to travel is an excuse we use to absolve ourselves for not doing the hard work needed to do our art. Art is hard work. There’s some inspiration and then there’s a lot of work to realize it.

But what is “inspiration”? The ancient root word means to “breathe in”. We are taking in the materials we can use to create. Steve Jobs said creativity is “just connecting the dots”. I believe he is right. But what are the dots and how do we connect them? The dots are information, examples, knowledge. We add new dots by studying something new, by looking at the work of an artist outside of your discipline, by reading lots of random, unrelated things we have never known, in short, to be receptive to new things, even if they do not seem valuable.

Ah, but the connecting is a key. This is getting harder and harder for most of us in this over-stimulated world. Connecting the dots requires quiet, alone time. We have to let our subconscious mind sift through all this juicy data we have given it and let it start seeing similarities, juxtapositions, possibilities. Go for a walk and try not to think about anything. Go get a cup of coffee and just sit and watch the world go by. Turn off your phone when you are doing these.

So, how about the back yard notion? Inspiration is not as much about external stimulation as it is about feeding your mind and connecting the dots. You can do this at home. Where you live is boring and uninspiring? Get out there and check it out again. Go out at different times and different weather. Get so familiar with it that you stop seeing just what is there, but begin seeing the details, the patterns, the structures that you never really perceived.

One of my self-assigned exercises is to go for a walk every day with my camera. I am exploring the same old area I see every day, but I vary the routes as much as I can. I usually only walk 1-2 miles. I often discover new sights that surprise and delight me. While I’m wandering my mind is switched into a mode of just receiving and thinking. Even if I do not discover a new sight, I often “connect dots” and come back inspired to do something new.

So I encourage. you to learn to appreciate your back yard. Explore, think, enjoy, use it for inspiration. It will also train you to get even more inspired when you do take one of those once-in-a-lifetime trips.

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What you can’t not do

Forgive the grammar. This resonates with me.

Passion has become an overused word. Everybody is passionate about something. But what you say you’re passionate about doesn’t matter compared to what you do. If you actually have passion, you will do it.

Time is our most valuable resource, and everybody wants it. Facebook wants all of our time, plus we have a job, family, friends, a dog, … After we do everything we’re supposed to do, it seems like there is no time for what we want to do. It’s a good excuse.

But what is is that you have to do? I understand this a lot better now. I finally figured out that no one will “let” me do my art. If I have to do it, I have to make it such a priority that I am willing to say no to some other things. Otherwise I am just a wishful artist, not a real one.

Everything has a cost. Being an artist can have a high cost. Buying the tools of our craft makes us feel like we are doing something, but if you’re not doing the work, you’re not making art. I would never attempt to prioritize your life for you. I can barely do it for myself. But I would suggest you examine what you are really doing with your time. Are you “owned” by Facebook, Instagram, Twitter? How many hours of TV do you use to numb the pain of the day?

I gave up my art for a few years because I was too busy. But I had to come back to it. It was a balance to my very left-brained life. It was a peace and joy I needed to combat the world. I am stronger because of my art. The things I gave up are not missed or even remembered. I need my art much more. I can’t not do it.

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Does an image have to be “about” something

Does an image have to have deep and obvious meaning to be worthwhile?  I don’t think so. I am reluctant to read too much into an image. In general, it is just a collection of pixels. Those pixels are perceived by our visual system and reconstructed as something in our brain. The viewer is responsible for interpreting the image, and that will be a function of their experiences, mood, context, etc.

There are images that do have a powerful message. They are generally a few exceptional photojournalism images or some advertising or illustration images that state their message clearly. These are not what I am talking about here. I’m talking about “fine art”, whatever that is. Fine Art is generally referred to as works that are done purely as art, not for commercial purposes.

As an image creator, I better have a “why” in mind for an image or it will be just a record shot — just an “I was here; look at that”. Now, some of these record shots can be very nice and I may really like them, but they are not generally what is considered fine art.

But just because I have the reason in mind does not necessarily mean it should be obvious to the viewer. The viewer should discover his own joy in the image. Maybe it is the combination of colors; maybe it is the shapes; maybe it is the composition of the graphical elements; maybe they just really like pictures of horses. It doesn’t matter. If the image challenges or pleases the viewer, if it causes them to ask questions or produces an emotional effect in them, it is successful.

Take this image, for instance:

It probably violates every rule of photography I ever learned (more about Rules later). But to me it has a staying power. I can stare at it for a long time just exploring the colors, movement, etc. I could say a lot about possible symbolism here, but it doesn’t matter unless you, the viewer, ask those questions yourself.