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In my last blog, I revealed 2 things that spark my creativity: travel and observation. Below are 3 more ways I’ve found to keep the wheels of innovation greased.

• Challenges. There’s nothing that inspires me more than a challenge. (Please don’t dare me to jump off a building!) In art, that means if someone asks me to do something entirely different, such as painting scenes on palm fronds, I will do it. Why? Because I love learning. First, I research best practices. I often do that through the miracle of googling. I have challenged myself to paint everything from flowers to landscapes to portraits. I’ve painted bubbles on entire works after an art instructor implied they would be too hard for me to do. And I’ve painted not only on canvas, but also on rocks, wood, paper, tiles, panels, and glass just to see if I could. And guess what? I can! 

“The Bubble & Balloon Factory” was my response to an art instructor’s challenge.

These 2 panels were the first of what became “The Factory Series.”

Palm fronds in Florida are everywhere, but few become works of art. These, collected in a client’s backyard, became a nice addition to her marine-life decor. I sanded the surfaces, coated them with gesso, painted the designs with acrylic, and topped them with varnish to provide a shiny surface that will protect the images. 

• Other artists. You would be very bored if you visited galleries and art shows with me. I don’t just view the art. Instead, I interview any artists that have the bad luck to be there when I walk in. Typical questions include: Why did you choose this subject? What surface did you use and why? Why do you paint abstracts instead of embracing realism? How did you achieve that shimmer on this painting? Which brushes did you use for this portrait? Their responses have influenced my choice of subjects, materials, media and styles. My patient, supportive husband, Richard, just finds a bench somewhere and plays Scrabble on his iPhone. In fact, I snapped the photo below of him sitting on a bench in a Santa Fe gallery doing just that. Later, I memorialized the image in a painting for my own collection. He likes it!

Richard amuses himself on his iPhone.

• A sense of humor. I like to laugh, and I love to make other people laugh. I was the student who would keep you amused during a boring lecture by whispering my thoughts in your ear. And you might have been the one who would get in trouble when you couldn’t hold it together. “The Factory Series” owes its existence to my sense of humor. Did you notice the cartoon-like images in “The Cloud Factory” below? Cartooning is an art form I seriously thought of pursuing. Maybe I still will! And don’t be surprised if I create another series based on a humorous view of life. I really don’t mind if you laugh at SOME of my paintings. For instance, “The Clone Factory” with it’s “Here today CLONE tomorrow” sign might get a chuckle out of you. 

“The Cloud Factory” illustrates how conscientious, little workers manage to create clouds. (Click on the image and enlarge it to see the details.) Who knew they use hoses, buckets, smoke, hand-mixers, and a giant can of Whipped Cloud?

“The Clone Factory” came to me after watching a TV documentary about cloned polo ponies. See Dolly, the sheep that was the first cloned animal? I can’t really explain why we need to clone sheep, let alone cats, rabbits, pigs, bears or penguins. But of course I need more of MY dogs. See them coming off the conveyor belt encased in bubbles? One is about to escape! 

To view more artwork, check out my website at paulawilllits.com. You’ll find realism, abstracts, The Factory Series, Impressionism and figurative works. Did I say I like variety? Or contact me at [email protected]. 

Recognize the Monet behind me?

The Art Institute of Chicago

My husband fits right into this gigantic abstract!

The Art Institute of Chicago 

People often ask me how my brain works. Well, not exactly with those words, but that’s really what they are asking when they view one of my paintings and say, “How did you come up with this idea?” In my first attempt to think about my thinking, below, I discuss 2 of the ways I spark my creativity. In my next blog, I’ll reveal 3 more.

Many of my ideas come from:

• Travel. For the first time in my life, I am able to travel. No office work deadlines. No children in school. Money magically flows into our checking account from what we squirreled away BR (“Before Retirement”). I have visited so many art museums and galleries in the U.S. and Europe that I’ve lost count. I’ve viewed first-hand how the old masters handled light in their compositions, and how they painted royal robes to look so soft you can almost feel them. (But don’t even think of reaching out to touch them!)  I’ve been inspired by famous abstract art and Impressionism.There’s no doubt about it: Viewing original art up close has jump-started me trying new subjects, styles, techniques and media. And more than 7,000 photos of far-away scenes stored on my iPhone are waiting to be painted using various styles. So many ideas are only a click away!

• Observation. For example, I often stare at the sky. If you scrolled through photos on my iPhone, you might wonder if it was time to suggest mental health treatment because you would see hundreds of clouds. Watching their shapes and colors as the sun descends has not only resulted in me portraying clouds more accurately, it’s also led to the shapes and colors in many of my abstracts. And noticing how shadows fall as the sun moves across the sky helps me to realistically shade objects in paintings. I am also fascinated by how light flows through a glass vase and the water in it. I see how flower stems underwater look just a tad swollen compared to the tops that are not in the water. Right now I’m staring at a cow’s face across the street where we are in North Carolina. He seems a little self-conscious. Maybe a cow would be fun to paint!

I know you are on the edge of your seat wondering what my next 3 ways to trigger ideas will be. Perhaps chugging glasses of wine? Or learning to tango?  

Stay tuned!

Paula