I have had the chance to see much photography and art over the recent years and have come to the point where I don’t necessarily see what I inspires me to create, instead I realize what I don’t want to create. I have tried in the past, especially with black and white, to capture the artsy shapes and patterns that seem interesting to me but not necessarily to others and I would think on most times I have failed to capture the inspiration that begged to be photographed. I have just recently admitted to myself that the inspiration might never have been there and logically I was thinking that the shape or pattern would be seen as that iconic image-enter the realm of artsy.

Inspiration is very intangible, you don’t create because you think it will be seen as deep or interesting, you create because the image practically jumps in your lap. The painting or photograph that is truly inspired becomes the image in its time, it naturally appears from out of chaos and is obvious to the artist eye, it does not attempt to be interesting or dramatic, it just is.

The creative process has stops and starts, the flow is not controlled by the artist although it can be easier digested if the creative has time and silence to be open and aware. Inspiration comes suddenly and dramatically but it is also somewhat like a puzzle that gives up its secrets with subtle cues. Being creative is a rapidly changing point of view that speaks of pictures in words and words in pictures. I believe the most amazing creative endeavors are those that speak from some supernatural place where the viewer or reader takes something from the piece that is not clearly written or executed. The feeling of sadness from a pastoral scene that invokes a feeling of ones’ childhood, the realization of ones’ own qualities or weakness only unlocked from a piece that speaks nothing specific or tangible; these are those supernatural moments where art speaks beyond its medium.

In the realm of photography I seek images that haunt me, if it is a portrait, I want the person to be saying something to me without a sound. I want to feel haunted by the subject and feel as if I have just interrupted an important moment in someones’ life. I would rather the viewer hate my painting or photograph than leave it empty, it is all about feeling something, anything really.

Another difference between the artsy and the true inspiration is that the feeling of artsy fades very quickly, inspiration is not hampered by time or style and fashion of the day. You see that which is inspired and it grows and changes every time you see it or remember it. Inspiration has depth much like a complex wine that gives up its qualities and flavors only over time and nothing is constant, everything changes, grows and lasts the test of time. You remember and go back to an inspired piece and the artist or writer doesn’t have to explain what they were thinking or feeling.

True inspiration becomes less of the artists’ and more of the viewers’, the creative gives up ownership of the piece as the viewer creates their own idea or feeling, an inspired work can be explained and dissected by many and the artist never has to say a word because there are no right or wrong answers. The viewer is left to discover the piece and it changes and grows depending on the viewers’ point of view.

This is so subjective and would love to have others opinions, this is my opinion, how I see art and the creative process but just as I mentioned-it is the viewer who describes it for themselves and this writing only attempts to lead the reader to make their own decision on what is artsy and what is true inspiration.