my inspiration.

So, what inspires me? It’s a bit of a loaded question, but there are a lot of things that inspire me, but what I find interesting is why do these things inspire me?

Inspiration is something that affects us all and in multiple ways, it can be from an image on Pinterest that inspires you to redecorate your Lounge, or from an idea to create a Business.

We are all affected by the feeling of inspiration, it’s unique to everyone and that feeling can be overwhelming. Inspiration isn’t always something that comes easily to you, sometimes you must find it, which can be a long and frustrating process.

There are five main areas where I take inspiration from, of which we will discuss below.

Film:

The easiest way for me to find inspiration is through film. For me, there is no greater escape than getting cosied up to watch a film. Your thrown into a world of comedic laughter, or your being chased by a man with a chainsaw, it generates an emotional reaction and can even inspire.

I think what inspires me the most about film is the visuals, from an alien landscape to 80’s fashion, the emotion that it evokes is truly special.

Nature:

Anytime I’m around nature, I always find inspiration. Wither it’s walking along Barassie Beach, to walking the great hills in the Highlands, if I’m walking through the woods (and stumbling over the roots), I love to stare at my surroundings. I’m fascinated by the way the branches and vines intertwine, connecting to the trees around them. The trees are like a community, helping each other, sharing their resources to help them thrive and grow, something that we, as a society long for.

At the start of November 2021, my partner, Lewis, who you can be introduced to here, and I took a trip up north, we stayed in a remote cottage in the Cairngorms. The peace that came over us instantly as we arrived was like nothing either of us had experienced before, it just felt right. When we were at the property, we were surrounded by highland cows, sheep, and greenery, it was like nothing existed beyond the horizon. When the sun would set, it was magical, the moon emerged and lit up the ground with a soft light, we would sit out silently in the hot tub for hours, listening to the nature around us and stare out to the beyond.

Nature is mysterious, and dangerous, but beautiful and precious. Something that we are all guilty of overlooking, but sure is a natural inspiration.

Music:

When I’m working in my studio, the music I listen to is crucial to my creative process. It helps to create the feeling inside and get the so-called creative juices flowing. Music is made to enforce an emotion, from the lyrics to the beat, it creates an environment for you to escape in.

It can be an emotional environment, if you’re listening to Adele’s new album, you’ll need the tissues because you can feel the hurt, the love and the passion she is portraying. I’ll never forget, as I’m sure you won’t either, the first lockdown we experienced in 2020. The reason I’m talking about this here is because Lady Gaga released her new album ‘Chromatica’. I remember feeling the rage because I couldn’t dance to this in a club, surrounded with friends, but when I tell you I was jumping from wall to wall, dancing and singing, I really was jumping from wall to wall. Both albums have brought me so much inspiration, but for so many different reasons.

Music is important for a lot of things, depending on the music you use at a wedding, or a party, depends on whether the guests will dance or not. We may listen to the music, but the music controls our bodies and mindset.

Mankind:

Now one of the ficklest inspirations are people themselves and the destructive side of society. I’m not going into politics or a debate here, but I find mankind so intriguing. The human form is always something that I’ve wanted to explore artistically, but with the sexualisation and censorship of the human form in society, it limits any kind of promotional material for work like that. The link between art and pornography? This is a topic I’ll save for another blog.

The destructive side of society is something that gives me nothing but frustration and confusion, by the way we treat our planet, our only home, and the way we treat each other is mind-numbing. The human form is a precious, complex thing that conjures emotion, it can be so overbearing, but this is what I turn into inspiration.

Artists:

I’ve always been inspired by other artists. One in particular is HR Giger. Giger was the man that created the infamous Xenomorph from the movie, “Alien”. The vibe that flows through Giger’s work is a feeling of unease and beauty, something I’ve always related to with my own artwork. Plus, the “Alien” movie is a masterpiece, and will always remain as one of my favourite movies.

Summary:

So why do these things inspire me? Well, in conclusion, nature is an obvious one. It’s the connection to the natural world that I, or we, may long for. We were once equally connected before building a social construct so far from the natural world.

I believe with everything, it adds to our life experiences, the things that we go through can make or break us, but we adjust, we survive. We turn to Music, or Film for an escape from the real world, we can lose ourselves by listening to our favourite track or watching your favourite film.

We all have our hobbies, our interests, and the reason we like them is irrelevant, but if you enjoy something, then that’s all the reason you need to focus on.

Inspiration is a very recognisable, fleeting feeling, and whenever you get it, apply it.