Artist ideas and concepts.

"An idea is our visual reaction to something seen - in real life, in our memory, in our imagination, in our dreams." ~ Anna Held Audette from the book, The Blank Canvas


An artists ideas and concepts can come from a variety of places. i have been researching these ways to see if i can apply them to my own idea process. Here are some of the ways and processes i have found:

• images- work of other artists- Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso.
• observation, realism- Leonardo da vinci.
• events, tragedy, war and life experiences- Pablo Picasso, Karen Smith- doll artist.
• Imagination, dreams and fantasy- H. Rousseau, R Magritte and Selkie Whitebear.

Ways in which we can apply these sources or processes to our work is to think like an artist and look at these points for inspiration.

• looking at things more closely than most people do.
• finding beauty in everyday things and situations.
• making new connections between different things and ideas.
• going beyond ordinary ways of thinking and doing things.
• looking at things in different ways in order to generate new perspectives.
• taking risks and exposing yourself to possible failure.
• arranging things in new and interesting ways.
• working hard and at the edge of your potential.
• persisting where others may give up.
• concentrating your effort and attention for long periods of time.
• dreaming and fantasizing about things.
• using old ideas to create new ideas and ways of seeing things.
• doing something simply because it's interesting and personally challenging to do.

leaf curling observation drawings

A fantasy drawing, inspiration taken from the myths of  fairies, pixies
and nymphs. 

Anatomical observation drawings

A sketch of the grim reaper based on what  imagination has brought to life.

A drawing of real tragedy and war that conveys emotion
based on real events. 

rhythm designs.

regular rhythm 

flowing rhythm 

rhythm- design principles

This is a regular rhythm as your eyes continue to follow the white pattern against the black background. 

this regular rhythm is known as a long corridor effect as it leads your eyes straight down the centre extending the image as it narrows. 

a flowing rhythm with a character to imply fast paced motion and speed. 

this image is constantly flowing as there isn't a set focal for your eye to look at so it is left to wander .

this image is progressive as it seems as if the image in turning into the centre and so your eyes follow.

this is also progressive rhythm as the image stays the same but decreases in size causing our eye to travel down the image.