I doodle a lot. I mean a-lot. I have books full of them. I doodled in meetings and while it may have seemed I wasn't paying attention, it was in fact, helping me focus more. In these cases, it's more of a thinking process than a drawing process. Often these scribbles mean nothing to someone else, but it seems like a code to me. Sometimes it can inspire me to come up with a solution, whether it be for a design project or a piece of fine art. Thinking is. hard, thinking of ideas can be harder, but if your brain is engaged, it can free up ideas that may be something you think should be pursued to a point of execution.
Making a mark with a pen on paper is the beginning of that idea, that thought and transferring it into a real, physical shape is the beginning. An artist has to be vulnerable in order to create something that connects visually, emotionally and physically. Dealing with things you might feel afraid of sharing are sometimes an inspirational start. Afterall, when you create a piece of art, you are revealing something of yourself. There is something in the experience of creating this art that you are sharing in a very public way. You can not always avoid the things you fear or feel insecure about. I have become more secure in taking risks, attempting to create something that I find interesting, something fresh and visually stimulating. Even if the eventual reaction to that art is one of dislike. I want a reaction, good or bad because the worst reaction for a creative person is one of indifference. I want you to love it, to think it is great or you hate it and want to destroy it. These are the emotional connections we look for as an artist.
So, where do ideas come from? They come from inside us. They come from our experiences and how we feel about them. We are inspired by other creative people and the creative risks they have taken. This is where I landed on the mosaic idea. I have always drawn and painted, since I was eight years old. This new style or technique is something I came up with that challenged my mentally, graphically and creatively. I had no idea if this was really art or if it was going to be accepted on the same plane as I had visualized it. What I like about this technique is the opportunity to say something in a multitude of layers. Abstract thoughts and vivid colors interacting with images and misaligned squares. The application of paint and glue that appears to have just happened are really thought out and somehow planned strokes and globs.
So, keep doodling.