Inspiration Fridays! Inspired to Slow Down.

Inspired to Slow Down.

I’ve been drawing a lot of flowers. The details included in a bouquet are almost infinite. Sometimes that can feel like too much to even begin to try to capture on a canvas.

“Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly” – Mae West

I’ve got a couple of approaches to tackling that kind of infinity. One… is to go big picture.

Looking for the big shapes and ideas gives me an opportunity to distill the flowers down to their essence. These extracted compositions are beautiful and bring with them a lot of energy. They imply all of those details without spelling any of them out. And most of the time, I’ve found that the end result is lacking for nothing. The essence is enough, and it is beautiful.

 

Inspiration Fridays Inspired to Slow Down

Bouquets have incredible energy. I want that energy to come through in my paintings.

The other way is to slow down. This technique involves following every contour and every shape, meditating on each unique curve and edge. This is the foundation of seeing.

Maybe as artists, our job is to bring clarity to this world of mindless busyness. Distraction and “have-tos” suck up so much of our daily attention. Instead of getting mired in the details, we can choose to focus on those things that enrich us and make our experiences beautiful. Through the act of conscious selection, we get to design and compose our daily lives.

A huge part of this slowing down is revisiting the things in our lives that light us up. Taking an hour or three to stare at a bouquet of flowers is time well spent. The payoff that this meditation on beauty offers might feel intangible at first, but this kind of stillness and awareness, is the fertile ground where we plant the seeds of our creativity.

It might feel like your big ideas come out of nowhere, and in a moment. But it’s more likely that they have been percolating in your subconscious. The seeds of inspiration splitting open, and taking root during those times that you set aside to meditate on the beauty that surrounds you. So roll up your sleeves! Get ready to slow down and take it all in.

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Can you take an hour to draw a flower?

Have you found big ideas in stillness?

Big picture or details? What lights you up?

 

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Inspiration Fridays! Can you commit to play?

Can you commit to play?

Last week I was doing a couple of demos for my figurative workshop, and I surprised myself. Something shifted for me, and I forgot where I was.

“A person’s maturity consists in having found again the seriousness one had as a child, at play.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Instead of being on a Zoom call trying to teach a lesson on figurative painting, I realized that I was in a room full of friends, doing the thing that I loved best. All the brushstrokes were landing, my color harmonized, and the composition popped. I was having fun, I was playing

 

Inspiration Fridays! Can you commit to Play? Figure Painting Workshop Demo Painting

Demo from last Friday’s Alumni Figure Painting Workshop – Gabriel Mark Lipper

Play.

Play is a word that’s synonymous with innovation. When we let go and give ourselves permission to explore and stumble, and pivot, and do it differently, and then do it again, we give ourselves room. Creating that kind of space keeps our decision-making light. It allows for discoveries instead of achievements and ideas instead of conclusions.

As artists, it’s important to bring play into our work with intention. When I feel myself freezing up, I’m learning to shift gears, breathe, or take a walk.

Sometimes, when I’m alone in the studio, I will laugh out loud. I do it on purpose. The laughter breaks something up inside of me and helps me to get back to the work at hand, which is actually play. Some of the studio neighbors now avoid my gaze when we meet on the stairs in front of the studio. They give me a wide berth, and I understand that play isn’t for everybody.

You can’t force play, but you CAN be consistent about it. Building rituals around fun makes it more obvious when you’ve missed the mark. Remind yourself daily that play is essential to your creative growth. Schedule regular playtime, and then break that schedule. Play during the middle of the day and use that momentum to work furiously into the night. Spontaneity is a disruptor. Mix it up! You might wake up a little groggy, but you’ll be inspired to play it again.

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How is your play game? Does your art feel like work?

Can you be playful with “serious” art?

Can you commit to play?

 

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Inspiration Fridays! Rocket or apple tree?

Rocket or apple tree?

Hiking my way up a narrow trail some years ago I came across a man working feverishly in his sketchbook under the generous shade of an unusually large apple tree.

“The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

I was curious, and asked the fellow what it was that inspired him to such focus.

“I’m designing a rocket ship.”

“Oh!” I replied. “To what purpose?”

“I want to go higher than anyone has ever been.” He said. “It will be beautiful up there, will you help me build it?”

Such earnestness and conviction inspired me and so I agreed to help.  He soon enrolled others in the idea as well and in little to no time at all, he had assembled an incredible team.  Years passed, and the work moved steadily forward. The team lived on apples and dreams of the stars, while our leader continued to obsess over the scale of his rocket. The lower engines alone were immense, and it became clear to us all that this vision of space flight was not only possible, it was going to happen! We were really going to see space!
A second set of engines was added, and a third. With each addition, the team grew larger and the rocket taller.  Each member of the team leaned in and offered up their best. The results were spectacular.

The man retreated into his thoughts as the deadline for launch grew nearer.  Construction of the rocket’s fuselage was now underway and the shape of the rocket narrowed drastically. The cockpit was quite small. Room for only one.

“It was my idea.” He said. “You can build your own rocket.”

“Oh!” I replied. “To what purpose?”

By this time, The idea of a rocket ship to space had lost some of its luster. I loved the passion that had helped to manifest this enormous construct, but the reality of floating alone above the Earth seemed lonely.

Many stayed on, hypnotized by the vision of bigger and higher.  But a few of us left.

 

Inspiration Fridays Rocket or Apple Tree?

Infinity – 36″x72″ – acrylic on attached panels – Gabriel Mark Lipper

We began to build tree houses in the giant limbs of the apple tree that had sustained and shaded us for all these years. The best part of building the rocket was creating something with the kind and brilliant people we’d met along the way. With our homes nestled in the tall branches of the giant tree, we would never reach the heights of the rocket, but the hike up is good, and the view of the stars is still wonderful to behold.

Our desire to create has many facets. Each of us comes with different gifts and intentions behind what we do. Some artists need to be close to the stars to feel inspired. Others, find their inspiration in community. I’m inspired by the rich fabric of the everyday world and the warmth of being surrounded by the people that I love.

What drives your art? What nurtures your art?

Do the people in your world help or hinder your progress?

Rocket or apple tree?

 

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