Finding Inspiration to Paint, Part 2

We all find a creative roadblock once in awhile.  So I thought I would continue to share with you some of the things I like to do to get my creative juices flowing again.  Last week I blogged about inviting art friends over.  A couple of responses I received were great ideas too - Celeste recommended traveling to inspire her and Susan says to "slow down and really look around".  Thank you for these great ideas!
Today's thought for inspiration is to look through an art book for ideas.  Whether you browse through your own personal art book library or visit the
local library, check out what other artists are doing and see what inspires you.  Try a new technique that is described in the book or try to recreate a painting that you love.  The Splash series books are a wonderful collection of the best of watercolor.  Each book has a focus (light, value, creative solutions...) and is filled with beautiful, inspiring watercolor paintings.

This painting was inspired by what I read in a book about adding white gouache to your painting.  It was quickly done - playful and colorful!

Finding Inspiration to Paint

Do you ever find that it is hard to get inspired to paint?  Maybe it is just finding the time in our busy lives.  Sometimes I am so anxious to get all my chores done so that I can "go paint".  But I sit down, surrounded by all my art supplies and nothing comes to me.  I feel uninspired.  What to do!  I wanted to post a few blogs about finding inspiration...
One great thing to do is to invite a friend or a few friends over to paint with you.  Set aside time, a few hours at least, and invite some friends for a relaxing, artistic afternoon.  I set out some stencils and inks in case someone wanted to use them in their art journals.  We explored different ways to add color to our stencils.  Here are some photos of our fun afternoon....