The Power of Early Inspiration: How it Shaped My Artistic Journey
- Deborah Burrow
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
I've just had my 54th birthday, and it seems I am inspired to delve into where all this "being an artist" began. Even though I have a personal statement about my main inspirations for my current work, I've thought I'd share more in depth my story and my early influences.
The earliest memory of being inspired by colour and pattern is around my mother's fabrics. She was an excellent seamstress, and would often be commissioned to make clothes and household items. She taught me to sew by hand as soon as I was able to cope with a needle and thread. She taught me the art of patchwork by hand using little scraps of beautifully coloured and patterned material. I was instantly connected to the colours, texture and how the they all went together in a traditional patchwork. The materials were quite often off-cuts of Laura Ashley, Liberty and Kaffe Fassett. I realise now what a fabulous introduction to colour and design I was exposed too. I am also lucky enough to still have some of these fabrics and books. When mum had to downsize I ended up with a stash to take home. Thankfully, she never threw anything away!
At the same time I remember being fascinated by paintings hanging in my grandparent's house. They were landscapes, and I learned that my father had painted them! So that started an ongoing conversation about painting. He painted in oils. He was self taught and started to paint seriously when he was stationed away from home in the Royal Air Force. He took it up as a hobby, but sold most of them through a local gallery where he was stationed, and to friends. He continued to paint in his spare time all through his life, and still does to this day at the age of 82. He switched to acrylics about 20 years ago, and still sells them in local shows.
My next art-related memory is of collecting art cards and postcards. I started a cork noticeboard and a scrapbook of my favourites during the time I took O level Art. Many of my favourites were the impressionist artworks. I was fascinated by the way the colours were used to create texture and interest, and the feeling I got from the paintings. I found the landscapes particularly soothing and this one is still a favourite of mine:
Having grown up in a rural village, I could identify with the landscape and the atmospheric perspective. I loved the layering, the way the brushwork created depth and texure. The way the colours were used was just magical to me. I didn't know all of the arty terms at the time, but what I did know is that I just could imagine myself standing there in the scene, feel the warmth on my face and hear the rustling of the trees in a gentle breeze. I was obsessed with how a painting could do this!
I was also lucky enough to know a professional artist in the next village. He was the husband of a friend of mum's and I was fortunate enough to go and look in his studio on many occasions. He worked in oils and, in the fashion of the time, framed them in the most ornate golden frames. They seemed very impressive! I was in awe, and declared to my parents that I wanted to be an artist when I left school.
Growing up in the countryside also gave me an understanding of wildlife and how it shaped the landscape. How animals and birds went about their secret lives, and where they made their homes. I was fortunate to see this from an early age as my father taught me all about them on our daily walks. We lived in an area surrounded by arable farming, with a beck running through the village. The meadows around the beck were only farmed with gentle sheep and between the fields there were copses of trees that were hushed, wild and fascinating.
These days I am still drawn to landscapes in all mediums, and collect many on my Pinterest board. A few of my favourite artists are in the gallery below, and each image has a link to their website:
Nothing beats getting out into the countryside for me to find my inspiration. The best moment arises when the light and subject is just right and it evokes an emotional response in me. It could be the haze in the air in the summer, or the hush after a fresh snowfall. It may be the way a tree has grown, or the sound of a blackbird. It may be the way the grass has dried in the hot sun, or it may be the way wildlife has left its mark in the ground. Many times it has been the scenery slightly obscured by trees with the light beckoning beyond. Whatever it is, a photograph alone is not enough to inspire me. I have to capture this moment in person.
When that precious moment comes, it triggers something much deeper than making art - it nudges my soul to remember who I am and what I want to share. I guess I am trying to express that with my painting. I am yet to express that fully, and I think that is what the artist in me is truly striving for - to enable the viewer to feel it too. If I achieve that in my lifetime, then I have been successful in my mission.
I'm still working on it!
"In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks" John Muir
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