Finding your muse

There is much to write about finding your creative voice. It is a long and arduous process. However, it is safe to say that many artists will come across a subject that they just have to paint. For me, I find that I love painting things from nature, especially frogs. I love the leggy look of frogs. In life, I love how much fearlessness they have when leaping around their domain. There is also vulnerability within this strength, as many animals look to frogs as food. Thereby do frogs become a most interesting subject to paint.

Finding a muse can be difficult for many people. I personally enjoy looking to nature for the weirdly fantastic. Others may prefer the human form as a topic to be explored. Still others may work with just color and texture. Wherever you find your muse, there you must be.

My advice for finding the topic that makes you want to paint would be to explore that which fascinates you, disgusts you, moves you to experience the strongest of emotions, be it revulsion or admiration. If there is a topic that moves you strongly, then you will find much to paint and write about. For me, it is the natural world.. For others, it may be prudent to look within, to look close to home, to look in your surroundings. You do not have to travel to find interesting subjects.

Running water, trash to treasure, the mundane in life made to be fantastic. These are the subjects that will move your soul, and thereby captivate your audience.