Here are just a few of the people who have inspired me over the years. Firstly the painters – I can’t include images here due to possible copyright infringment but if you Google the names you will find heaps of images to enjoy.
“You can find inspiration in everything. and if you can’t, look again. …………………………..Paul Smith
Klee
Great use of line, shape and colour. Klee, who famously described a line drawing as “a dot that went for a walk.” inspired my “taking your yarn for a walk” phrase which I use to describe freeform knitting and crochet.
Kandinsky
Another wonderful artist who also uses colour, shape and line so beautifully.
Hundertwasser
Again, fabulous use of line, colour and shape! The fact that he was also an architect is very apparent in his paintings.
Paul Cezanne
Love his brushwork and use of colour.
Van Gogh
This choice goes without saying…colour, bold brush strokes, expressive use of line.
James Walters & Sylvia Cosh – two wonderful freeform crochet artists who came to Australia in the 90’s to teach at Textile Fibre Forum and who sent me on the creative adventure of a lifetime.
Mixed Media Artists
I discovered Eva not so many years ago when I was submerged in “mixed media”. She uses CitraSolv to alter the pages of National Geographic magazine and then uses them in collage in her work. I believe you can now purchase this product in Australia through VitaminGrocer
I’ve included a couple of my own altered pages here since I can’t use Eva’s but do visit her website and Facebook page and enjoy her amazing artwork.
Below are just a few on my favourite mixed media, stitch and collage artists. Click on the names to go to their websites
Serena Barton Serena has written a great book called Wabi-Sabi Art Workshop, a great book about embracing imperfection and celebrating happy accidents and being a ‘freeformer’, the wabi-sabi approach suits me perfectly!.
Information on creating mixed media art can be found at here
Far too many books and artists for me to list here so I suggest you do Google searches for ‘mixed media art’, ‘collage’, ‘textile artists’ as well as spending time on Pinterest.
And then of course there is nature. Look around you, look down, look up. When you go for a walk take your phone/camera with you.
“Inhale possibility, exhale creativity.”
~Laura Jaworski, author and artist
JenArt 