It’s almost perennially windy in Margaret River! That’s one of the reasons I’ve never really taken up en plein air painting since I’ve been here. Instead I prefer to take photos wherever I go, of everything and anything, then use them as “spunti”; ideas for my paintings.
I have a massive archive… way too many external hard drives… full of images that date back to before I even owned a decent camera! They’re a comprehensive history of my life and include copious sunsets and sunrises, rain, snow, magnificent trees, forests and bushland, flowers of all shapes and sizes, equally diverse animals - both two legged and otherwise (funnily enough, I don’t have many snake or shark photos in my archive!!), people wandering down the path walking their dogs/kids/bikes, people talking, eating, drinking, arguing, playing, musicians as they practice their tunes, performance artists as they act, sing, jump and dance…
One of these days, I’ll get to cataloguing them all, and perhaps one day I’ll even print some! But right now, they’re my biggest inspiration and influence in my paintings.
I take photos of photos too… from magazines and billboards or even simply scrolling through facebook. It might be a pose, or a composition, or even just a colour combination. Anything that catches my attention could end up in a painting somehow, some time!
So next time you see me with my camera in hand, make sure you “strike a pose” or wear something completely outlandish, and you might end up being the inspiration for my next work of art!
Comments