Who Inspires You?

Inspiration is a vital force. Quite literally, to inspire means “to draw breath” — to draw in life itself. In painting, inspiration is the influence I bring to a landscape, a floral arrangement, or the portrayal of a person. The deeper the inspiration, the more emotion and power emerge from a painting, affecting both the viewer and the creator.

So what is it about a subject that draws me to paint it? Certainly memories play a role — a sense of serenity, someone or something I love, or a fleeting moment that quietly captures my attention. Sometimes the attraction is so subtle that I don’t fully understand it until I sit with it for a while.

Color helps shape the mood, but the subject matter — and the way it settles onto the canvas — is the heart of the painting. Often, people tell me they are drawn to purchase a painting for similar reasons. It evokes a feeling instantaneously — perhaps subconsciously, perhaps through memory. A painting can remind us of a place we’ve been, a person we miss, or simply a feeling we long to hold onto a little longer.

Drawn to Light 16 x 20 Oil

I think that is the quiet power of art. Inspiration begins with the artist, but it does not end there. It passes from one person to another, creating a connection that words often cannot express. The paintings that stay with us are rarely just about the subject itself — they are about the emotions they awaken within us.

So I return to the question: Who inspires you? Perhaps inspiration is all around us, waiting patiently until something — a color, a light, a memory, or a moment — takes our breath away.