What inspires you?
I’ve created a mind map graphic to cover the basics, to which I will go into more detail here. The first is “History.” This is my biggest inspiration when I’m creating. I’ve always been a student of history, and I find it fascinating how it mirrors to today’s world. Some things I keep in mind when creating a piece of original artwork here at Clarissa Keener Art;
-History
1. War
2. Persecution
3. Famine
4. Human Progression
5. Antiquity
6. Similarities to Today
7. Women’s History
War. Interesting subject, and an action I wish was not necessary. I put my brain into a zone to feel what people were feeling throughout history. What was the soldier feeling? A sense of duty, a job, to provide for his family, patriotism. What was his family feeling? His wife? His children? Fear, worry, poverty, missing their family member. Once I channel some of these concepts, I put it into my work. I create organic abstractions using color and textures on canvas.
Persecution. This is a big one, and something I abhor so deeply. When you look at world history, there is not a single group or race that has not experienced persecution. I wish that more people could understand this today, because of course, it is still happening in 2020. Again, I connect myself to the hurt and pain experienced by so many people. But, a way that I can keep myself from tumbling into a dark pit is to express emotion through joyful colors.
Famine. Something that a lot of Americans take for granted. I’m keenly aware of how lucky I am that I do not have to want for food. As are most of us. Historically, famine resulted from climate changes (floods, droughts) that wasted away crops. Poor decision making by leaders was the cause of millions of deaths by starvation. Stalin and Mao Zedong come to mind here.
Human Progression. Or digression. How we’ve evolved throughout time, both in technology and in government. In a lot of ways, we have evolved for the better, but as I’ve stated before, we could be so much more. If only everyone had empathy for their fellow humans.
Antiquity. This one is less depressing! This is a path I love exploring in my work. I am an old soul…I love antique, nostalgic things with a story to them. I will recreate these antiquities using color and textures. This is one meant to create hope, joy, and happiness. It is my favorite mindset to get into!
Similarities to today. Pretty self explanatory, I’d say. How do all these historical topics mirror in today’s world? What can we learn? What can we see coming? What can we improve? How far have we come, really?
Women’s History. This one could have a whole blog post to itself. And some day I will. I’m going to include it under history for today. In looking at women’s history, I’m conceptualizing persecution, contempt, violence, and the patriarchy. As I love creating my modern pop art portraits, women’s history is a topic I channel a lot. And as a woman, I can feel these emotions and get into that frame of mind quite easily.
The next inspiration topic I’m going to address is Human Emotion. I would say I’m an emotional person. This does not mean I sit in a corner crying or something. Not that there’s anything wrong with crying! What I mean to say is that the emotions I have are strong. What I am experiencing in the moment greatly affects my work. If I’m anxious for example, I steer towards pointillism. The repetition of this action- brush to paint, dot the canvas, over and over- is calming. It gives me something to focus on besides the anxiety. If I need to feel hopeful, I use lots of happy colors. I create something that take me to a happy place.
Yet, in our current social climate in the U.S., sometimes I need to create a piece that shows the pain, the struggle, the hate. No matter your political affiliation, you’ve seen this, you’ve experienced this. People are hurting. One of my favorite quotes of all time is from the brilliant and controversial artists, Banksy. He said, “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” What a precise summation, I love that. I have loved seeing all the murals and street art dedicated to innocent black lives lost to police. It’s sad that it has to be created, but it’s important for people to be able to express themselves. It’s important that those not affected by the injustice see it. This is going to revert back to my history inspiration for a moment. Given the current BLM movement, I’m reminded of the civil right’s movement in the sixties. I was not born then, but I’m wondering if this is how it began? How do you know when it’s a true civil rights movement. I think it is, and it gives me hope.
The final topic of inspiration is My Medium. Yea, I can find inspiration from the materials I am using. I’ll see a color I want to use and compose a piece from that. I’ll see one of my Golden heavy body acrylics, and have the urge to use my palette knives and pretend I’m icing a cake! If I see my Arteza iridescent acrylics, I will want to create a fantasy piece. I love using different kinds of acrylic paints. I like the wide range of possibilities in texture and color.
A word to my fellow artists, or those wanting to try creating for the first time. In summation, channel what you’re passionate about. Whatever emotions you’re feeling, use them. Start creating. It is never too late, and you will continue to learn and grow as you do so. Until next time, I hope you all stay safe and healthy! Much love.
