Everything that happens in my life is an inspiration to paint: everything I see, everything I feel, everything I hear. That is the general answer to the question, "What inspires you to paint?" On any particular day, however, I might be strongly influenced by an emotion--anger, sadness, despair or joy.
Music intensifies my feelings, and I always listen to loud music when I paint. Yesterday I saw the new movie, Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man, about a Canadian poet, songwriter, singer, and philosopher whose music has had a tremendous impact on my life for over thirty years. My eyes filled with tears as I watched and listened, and today I painted while listening to one of his old cds, Death of a Ladies Man.
Inspiration is not something I wait for. I just start to paint when it is time to paint. I think any working artist, writer, or musician needs to do that, to work on a regular basis whether they feel inspired or not. On good days, inspiration occurs in the process of applying the paint. I tap into something meaningful which gets expressed in color, line and form.
The bad days turn out to be just as important as the good days, for they prepare the way. They make me ready to receive when it is time. It's not easy to appreciate the bad days, especially when I set up that dichotomy of good and bad in my mind. Maybe some day I'll learn to love the bad days, or better yet, not to notice the difference.
