What Inspires You?

Are you fascinated by what inspires others?  I know I am.  Being an artist, I’m now on the receiving end of the question: “what was the inspiration for this painting?”

To answer that question, I have to go back a few years. 

I started painting because I needed art in my life.  I had been in a long term relationship with someone who was an artist in every fibre of his being.  In 2010, he died unexpectedly and not only left a hole in my heart, he took with him the daily dose of creativity that filled our lives.  

So I set about filling my life with artistic endeavours myself.  I made my garden bigger and better, growing more food than flowers which in turn inspired me to cook more which inspired me to try new recipes for which I had my family come over and try which lead to weekly dinners which has become something that we look forward to (and continue to this day).   But it wasn’t enough for me because being in the kitchen is easy for me.  In the kitchen I actually feel like an artist.  I needed to challenge myself beyond my comfort zone and I needed to satisfy the artistic void.  I played more tennis but that didn’t do it either.

In 2014, I signed up for a 6-week beginner art class.  At first, I didn’t pay much attention to what inspired me, I focused on getting comfortable putting paint on a canvas, and I painted everyday.  

I started telling people about my new “thing”.  I wasn’t even sure what to call it, but the question of “what is the inspiration” started right away.  People want to know what inspires someone to do what they do.  To be honest, I wasn’t sure.  The loss of Michael may have inspired me to start painting, but what was it that inspired me to paint what I painted?   

We spent 10 years of weekends and vacations at his farm.  Built over 100 years ago, it’s survived, intact, and is almost the same except for a few necessary updates.  It’s on 75 acres that we walked through day and night.  There are two big gardens that kept us fed during the summer months.  The ’feel’ of the farm leans toward authentic/bohemian.  For instance, it has a big wood stove that we used for heating AND for cooking.  Vintage signs on the walls were “rescued” from untended barns, local artwork, needlepoint, harvest tables, mismatched chairs with peeling paint, old railroad things, old farm equipment unearthed and left as sculpture.  It’s  like being taken back to another time.  And it was there that I felt the impact of living in an artistic environment.  The headiness of it all was intoxicating and fed my soul.  Now, I go for one week during the summer.  I bring my dog, a week’s worth of food and my art supplies.  I paint, walk the acres, cook, tend the garden, and find that a week of very little talking is good for me.  

 If you look through my paintings, you’ll be able to see which were done at the beginning and which were done recently.  Little by little as I find my voice and fill the void, I’ve become looser, more authentic and a little bohemian.  And what I know is this:  I’m inspired by so many things..the farm, music, food, art, animals, nature, tennis, colour, texture, mountains, oceans, lakes, architecture, hardware.... I could go on and on.  Each painting probably has a little bit of everything.  And now that I’m figuring out what inspires me, I’ll keep trying to paint the best me I can paint.

Send me a note.  I’d love to know what inspires you.  

Janice xo

Union Farm

The barn

Wood stove

The table set for dinner.

Ruby being Ruby.

One of the gardens out by the barn. About the size of half a tennis court.

The bunkie

Cherry trees.

Sugar pear trees.

1967 Rangoon Red Ford Pick up.