Every artist will tell you at some point or another their creativity felt stalled.  I have days when I go into the studio and spend the entire day and half the night creating beautiful art.  It just flows out so easily.  However, some days I feel like everything I touch does not turn out the way I have envisioned it in my head.  Creativity cannot be forced.  We have to feel it in our souls.  When I am having a day where I am not feeling creative, I get inspiration in the things I love…the everyday.

One of my favorite things to do is hike!  Taking a nice long hike often clears my head, and I take note of all the things around me that I enjoy about hiking: flowers, butterflies, rocks, leaves, etc.  I always take my phone with me and snap pics like this one that I can later look at for inspiration.  This picture of a blazing red leaf with the textured backdrop of sand makes me want to pull out a bottle of red acrylic paint and pumice gel and create!

One of my favorite spots to sit and relax is my deck.  I have a garden pond there brimming with flowers, fish, frogs, and dragonflies.  There is no better place to find inspiration.  The lemon color of that gorgeous waterlily and poppy would inspire anyone!

I snapped this pic of a double rainbow on the way back from our last vacation.  We saw one on our way, and one on our return trip.  It reminds me of how lucky we were in having the perfect vacation.  Nature’s beauty is so inspiring.  It is my happy place

While having morning coffee on my deck last weekend here is a little doodle that I was inspired to sketch in the midst of the morning tranquility of the sounds of the garden pond’s waterfall, the birds chirping, and the squirrels waking up to greet the day.

Next time you feel stuck and uncreative, look around you.  Think about what makes you happy.  That is your inspiration.