Where does inspiration come from?

The trash can! 

Well nearly. I had this scratch page in another journal. While straightening up today this was my view.  A light bulb went on and I grabbed my 'real art journal' with an idea.  

 I really love the way the images run outside the border of the pencil lines. 

 That was the inspiration

the view right side up. still works but not as dramatic. 

*if you're wondering; I keep this journal next to my bed with one pencil, a sharpener, eraser and a uni-ball vision micro black pen.  The sketch on this page is for an idea about a regular quilt.  I thought that reverse appliqueing some velvet ravens would be a really cool looking thing, especially if the fabric they would be coming out of was busy and full of color.  Like the Anasazi type prints. 

what cracks me up is in my sleepiness drawing I drew a bird and then had to draw an arrow to the bird shape with instructions that say cut out he shape. because at the time there was no other shape on the page.    anyway...

I love looking at sketches online of things that I love, like women's body shapes and bird shapes. I print them off if they are copyright free and use them as reference material to help me learn to draw. I can flip them or place them in areas to get layout designs without the angsty "here's my stick person rendering" because trying to actually draw the finished thing when I'm only planning it seems silly and in the past would stop me from designing at all.  So I found the bird shape I'd recently fallen in love with and 

I created this background page. 

From the trash page above I loved how that angle of negative space was so sharp, where the paint brush went off the corner of the stencil.  I got carried away a bit near the bottom and edges and the fanned strokes are too hard for my liking but there you go; a lesson learned. 

I will now go back and draw the bird in inks (keeping the monochromatic form) and will search for just the right words to write in a larger font.  Perhaps with my nibs.  

I also realize the stamped ink blotches with the ink running down are going in two directions.  oops.  I will find some fancy papers to cover one of them up.  Problem solved! Gotta love collage! Overall I  like the mood of the page.  And the elements so far all work.  I'm happy and now can rest that instead of sitting on my bum with a migraine all day, I've managed to do something at least. 

materials used in this page so far 

gesso'd page

rubber stamps

pencil sketch

stencil

paint brush