Inspiration

Its always good to have somewhere or something that gives you inspiration, especially when you really really don't have any.

How do you turn that dry patch, where you can't write anything, or you aren't able to even start putting paint onto a canvas or piece of paper, because to be honest you don't even know what colour paint its going to be, let alone what the thing you are going to paint is.

For me, Its an emotional thing. I have to feel something, some emotional feeling that kicks my internal tyres and I run with that.  I don't really know where its going to go, unless Im using some sort of stock picture as a basis for the painting.  

The last few paintings I have done have just been from colours in my mind.

But the other really good inspiration for me is the water, either the sea or local rivers.  Its the wildness and untamed nature of the sea I love. Respect it or don't, but you'll only survive it if you do.

Something like this from a paddle on the Deben in 2014.

which I turned into this, in acrylic paints.

Its not perfect and is around 10 years old now, so I hope Ive become a better artist, but the ethereal nature of the evening sort of comes out in the painting.