2006 - The Optimist - 60x36
First... I love... LOVE... the way we can interact with others of like mind around the world. I've had notes from artists from all corners, wish I'd kept a file, it always amazes me. A few days ago an email came from Ghislaine Bruno, a French artist who was almost apologetic that she had been inspired by one of my paintings and had used a shape from it in a linocut composition, which she promised never to market. Considering past experiences when my whole website had been highjacked for commercial purposes, I found her admission delightfully refreshing.
Funny how we are quick to name dead or very old famous artists that have inspired us to paint the way we do... but don't dare mention that by studying a peer's work you got a jump start on a new direction or a better way. Ummm... I usually keep mum as well... wouldn't want people to think I'm anything but original! Yet funny how so much of what we "all" do... has been done, usually many times over.
So back to my story... Ghislaine's inspiration came from the above painting... please visit her blog to see the terrific linocut that includes the Enso, a symbol I borrowed from centuries of Japanese artists...
3 comments:
I'm constantly running across an artist whose work makes me think "I'd love to paint something like that". And I do let it inspire and hopefully influence me and help me move in some direction I want to go.
I don't think I have the technical skill to actually copy someone's work so even if I wanted to I couldn't. So I guess for that reason all of you artists out there that I admire are safe!
Karen
I think we are all inspired and INFLUENCED by the other artists whose work we see, so it's a good idea to hang around the best as much as possible. hehe I do like your use of the enso. It feels right in your work.
A
As said before, how can we NOT be influenced by what we see of other artists work? That's what makes us artists, our individual "awareness". Sometimes I wonder if it's not just as much that we work in a similar manner ourselves as that we admire an artist's work. Which comes first? I think both happen without us being aware at times.
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