Nature As Inspiration

“… and then, I have nature and art and poetry. and if that is not enough, what is enough?” - Vincent Van Gogh

The first week of 2022, I spent the week with my family in the North Georgia Mountains. It was a glorious trip for this visual person. With nature being one of my largest sources of inspiration, travel to new or different landscapes is so very important for me and for so many other creative people. In nature we see with fresh eyes and take in the sounds and smells of the places we visit. So as an artist, I thought I would share with you my process of using nature to inspire the abstract work that I create.

Creating abstract art is very confusing to people, and sometimes it’s even harder to describe as the creator. But for me, it’s about creating something from nothing. And in the process, I get to have a personal experience with my process. I connect very deeply with the world around me. I thought everyone did that, but it wasn’t until I was older that I realized how much of the world I internalize in comparison to others. The sights, the sounds, the smells are all internalized and can be very over stimulating at times.

What I have found is that those internal parts in my world come out in my art in the form of color palettes, marks, or feelings. It’s extremely hard to explain that because its something that I’ve always done, but trust me, it happens more than I can count. I internalize my world to the extreme that even though I have pictures of what I’ve experienced, I don’t usually need to look at them before creating an art piece. The colors become a part of the experience, and I’m sure to match them in my paintings because I’m painting the feelings I had at the time. I even look at colors in nature and think of how I would make those colors using the paints that I have at home. It happens so frequently that I don’t even realize I’m doing it anymore.

With my current pieces that I have been working on, I did not look at the photos before I started creating them. It wasn’t until I started posting them on social media that the color matches we so obvious. The marks and shapes all remind me of the inner feelings and dialogue I had while experiencing the mountains throughout the drive, through the windows of the cabin, on hikes, and on horse back. I try to pay attention to the shapes and feelings I experience while in a particular place. I try to then mimic some of those shapes in the work - leaf patterns, terrain, rock formations, bird feathers, shapes of the campfire, calm spaces that reflect the serene feelings of being in nature.

The movement, textures and color palette reflect all that I saw and experienced!! And what came out of me was a two week exploration of my time in the mountains. And I’m not done with this palette at all. I really enjoyed working with these colors and love the work that came out of this trip. This is why it is so important for me to get out into the world to explore all there is to see and do - especially in nature. Who knows where any of my adventures may take my work? But that is part of the excitement of the journey. My art = ME!! And I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my life!!