David Limrite-Artist, Coach, Mentor,Teacher

A series of small heart paintings that I have been working on, off and on, for a few years now. Each of these pieces is 14”x 11” and they are all mixed media on canvas, with acrylic being the primary medium. Copyright David Limrite

“ Launch out into the deep if you want to catch anything”.

~ Vincent Van Gogh

Creativity is a powerful tool. It allows us to bare our souls, express our personal vision and ideas, communicate, tell stories, explore new frontiers, discover and learn.

The catalyst for all of this is inspiration. Inspiration is something that stimulates the human mind to creative thought or to the making of art. Inspiration is everywhere. It often comes from forces outside ourselves such as nature, music, literature, and of course, other artists.

Everyone has the ability to find inspiration, however, you can’t just sit there and magically be inspired. You have to go after inspiration. You have to find it. In order to do that, first, you must open yourself up to it. Second, you must be working and creating in order for inspiration to strike you. I have come up with my best and most interesting ideas while I was actually painting. Not while I was just sitting around waiting to be inspired.

I often hear artists say, “ I don’t know what to paint”. Seriously? Look around. Take a walk. Take a trip. Listen to music. Watch a movie. Read a book. Start painting. Inspiration is everywhere. Go after it!

(Note: Ideas are fleeting. They can come and go in an instant. I keep a journal right next to where I am working and, when I get an idea or interesting thought, I stop painting for a moment and jot it down. And yes, it is always worth it to stop what you are doing to record an idea. Always!)

Be active and aggressive when looking for inspiration. Don’t just wait for inspiration to come to you.

Best,

David