Sometimes it is hard to find inspiration. Believe me, I know. You are feeling creative and really want to just throw some paint on a canvas but you sit there staring at your paints and fiddling with your paintbrush because you have no idea what to make. You could do the Jackson Pollock thing and just splatter it, but will that get it all of  your emotion on to the canvas? Maybe some days.

I like to search new places to find inspiration. Here are some of my newest methods.

1: A New Era

We all have our preference of art genre or time period. Try looking at something new. Do you like Abstract? Try checking out something contemporary. You might not particularly like what you see but it might give you some ideas. Who knows, maybe you will come across a painting that you find so hideous that your brain with automatically start coming up with ways to distort it. That is the best.

2: Take It All In

Go for a walk. I know you have heard this before and are thinking this is nothing new. It can be a new experience every time. When I say go for a walk I mean in new places. Don’t walk around your house every time. There is only so much in that area. Go explore a park, walk past some tennis courts or drive a few miles away and walk around. There is so much in the world and you may think that nature doesn’t have the answers to what you are looking for… It just might.

Giving nature a different perspective is pretty helpful as well. Instead of looking at a duck pond from the bridge, may try getting in it. Maybe you are not adventurous enough for that… Who knows. It is a thought.

3: Stumble Upon

Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the same thing twice while stumbling. There is always a new article to read, artist to explore or video to watch. There are some amazing people out there and just typing in “artist” in google is not going to introduce you to them.

4: Color Palette

Have you ever looked at www.Colorlovers.com? It is a pretty neat site. You can view other users’ color palettes or make you own and some of them are pretty creative. Colors you never thought would go together mesh so well it will have  you scratching your head. You can search/create colors, patterns, shapes, occasions (weddings) and trends. I recommend it.

5: Children’s Book Illustrations

When was the last time you read a Dr. Seuss book? I can confidently say that Dr. Seuss is one of my favorite authors, hands down. His ideas and drawings are awesome! It takes me back to my childhood. When you are a kid your mind is open; you are a free-thinker. You aren’t being judged because you drew a pink elephant with purple polka dots sitting on a yellow cow in orange grass. It was a good time!

Oh The Places You’ll Go in books like these.

6: Promotion

Have you seen modern business cards? (I should make a new post on business cards… maybe tomorrow.) They are so creative! No longer are they a small piece of paper that fits in your wallet but they are advanced methods of design and self promotion.

7: Last Resort Library

This isn’t so helpful at this particular moment but it will be useful in the long-term. Whenever I am looking through a magazine or a book and I find an advertisement, photo shoot image, etc I cut it out of the book and put it in a folder. Something about that page I ripped out of GQ 5 years ago may inspire me now because of something I haven’t thought about in years. The same goes for objects in a store. If I am walking through Wal-Mart and I see a LEGO tower and I enjoy it, I take a picture of it. Anything I like, strongly dislike, or something useful goes into my folder. I don’t get it out frequently, but when I do there is a bevy of inspiration for me to feed off of.