Where does inspiration come from

First and foremost, the wisest word ever written about came from Picasso - 'inspiration will find you working' - he said. Never a truer word was uttered in the arts. When you are stuck, when inspiration won't come - just start working. Start sketching, painting and doodling.

I turned to automatic drawing during the darkest days of my first Covid19 lockdown. I lost all my drive, inspiration and direction. I did a series of automatic drawings and gradually I found my true self. This was an artist I had not seen for 15 years or more and I found myself looking myself in the eye and realising 'Ah, there you are'! This was pivotal moment.

What I am discovering in my latest works are traces of all the artists who have inspired me for the past 20 years.

Amongst them are Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Gustav Klimt, Peter Doig, Raoul Dufy, Vincent Van Gogh, George Birrell, Paul Gauguin and many more. It is to these are the artists I turn whenever I am losing my thread or become unravelled. You may be able to see traces of them all in this new painting.

Another source of inspiration, for me, is in the subconscious. I tap into this once or twice a day by simply induscing that delicious state of semi-consciousness that we can all experience when not fully awake in the morning or maybye during a 40 minute nap. I just let all the thoughts come to me as they wish and sometimes, a spark of inspiration emerges that fills me with such enthusiasm that I have to act almost immediately.

But, mainly, inspiration finds me working. It is with my brush or knife in hand that ideas emerge and gel. They are not always great ideas - sometimes they are quite misguided but they are the fuel that keeps my artist's engine running.