writingaboutpaintings

Life can sometimes take a toll on all of us. It is imperative that we sometimes stop to smell the roses, and start prioritising what’s important. That is however, easier said than done. For instance, I have a great desire to expand this blog that I am writing on , but after numerous weeks where I had to deal with finding a new place to rent , the physical exhaustion that comes with moving as well as dealing with people who refuse to cough up the deposit I was owed, I still cannot seem to write any content for this platform even when the dust has finally settled. Although the worst is finally over, I find that I just could not seem to organise my thoughts enough in a coherent manner. Perhaps I remain in a hyper-defensive state due to the past few weeks and have remained that way even with the easing of the tough situation.

Trying to work on my blog to no avail, I decided to take a break because I had to get the batteries on my iPhone replaced yesterday. I spent a good few hours in the city centre and reached home after the last stop from the supermarket and suddenly had a sudden burst of inspiration. I would write about being inspired! Certainly there are moment like the one I am having when life gets the best out of us. It is vital however, to keep the spark alive. As Oscar Wilde rightly once said , to live is a rare thing . Most people just exist. My life is not the most exciting, but I am excited to share with you what makes me feel alive and be motivated to keep creating (be it works of art , writing , etc.) in my boring little world. Here goes…

1.Coffee is my partner in crime. It’s not only a crutch I have had learnt to use ever since I was 15 while struggling to cope with the exams. It is more than that. Coffee is a way of life. It is a vital necessity to start off the perfect morning. A cup of espresso offers a perfect end to an indulgent lunch. Caffeine is also my best friend on those nights where I had to slog it out before the exams. Many of my most precious friendships were born over little breaks over the popular beverage. Now that you understand the massive role it plays in my life , you would understand that the magical drink is like a potion that kickstarts my own daily creative journey. I wouldn’t even dare dream of starting the day without it.

2.The Internet. Many great resources such as Google Arts and Culture as well as Smarthistory provide their viewers a similar experience to visiting a museum. I enjoy doing the occasional browse on these websites and just gawking at all the quality material found on these sites. Just being able to access high quality and well-curated materials on websites like these make me want to look at more and related content. At least I am also learning on my daily browsing sessions!

3.Netflix. I watch Netflix way more than I should to unwind after a long day at work. Recently, I have discovered certain educational documentaries that I really enjoyed! One I particularly enjoyed was The Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb. I highly recommend that you watch it too.

4.Golden hours. Living on a tropical island, I never had the misfortune of having to experience the blues due to lack of Vitamin D until I started living in the UK. Now that I am back home, I appreciate the magnificent sun so much more than I ever did. Being a morning person , I adore the early dose of sunshine. However, there is something particularly hypnotic about the afternoon sun that makes me feel nostalgic, dreamy and euphoric.

I used to frequently joke with people that my intelligence sets with the sun. The evidence lies with the fact that I used to be able to wake up at 4 am in the morning to study , but I could never absorb anything after 5 pm. Never even dream about asking me to burn the midnight oil. The golden hour sunlight sis extra special for me , as it also serves as a wind-down element, where I slowly relax and prepare my mind for the new day ahead. I look forward to the time of the day where everything basks in the beautiful bronzy glow of the disappearing sun. They never fail to make me smile and make me dream big.

5.Kitchens have always been a soothing haven for me. This little space at home reminds me of warmth , comfort, homeliness. It is of no wonder then that the pantry has been depicted many times over in the history of art. Breakfast set-ups, kitchen utensils, fruits and vegetables, dining ware, they rous in me the desire to be immortalised with a pencil on paper so that this feeling of homeliness lasts forever. One can say that when I feel the safest and most at home, I notice the impetus to engage in writing and art-making increasing exponentially.

Desserts also deserve a special mention here. Just by the sheer beauty of sweet delights never fail to pick me up. They serve as comfort food for the heartbroken, the weary souls and the unfortunate ones with the sweet tooth. Consuming them gives one an automatic burst of energy and happiness. I don’t even need to eat them. Just by looking at the aesthetics of a beautiful cupcake gives me that effect. The visual feast then begins, leading me to take out my trusty old wooden pencil to capture my muse.

6.Travelling. Taking a flight is always a tiresome activity. The thrill of going on a holiday however, offsets the annoying aspect of travelling. Opening oneself to a new place, new culture and new people opens the mind to new possibilities. I am a firm lover of Italy , but I have to say that Barcelona was the most inspiring place I have been to. The Spanish city is beautifully historic, yet possesses a whimsical and edgy side that is (in my opinion) enraptured and mirrored in the works of the genius Antonio Gaudi. Barcelona also sees its loud style being echoed in the loud and unabashed style of the Spanish apparel brand, Desigual with their trademark intense colours and daring prints. The vivacious vigour of Barcelona that marries the traditional seamlessly never fails to motivate me to think out of the box and stretch my own limits in terms of my imagination. Barcelona is just one of the many cities that lures me to use the right side of my brain even more. Which city was the most memorable for you and sparked your creative juices?

7.The Museum(duh).Would you not be tempted to always buy something if you were to do some window shopping at the mall? Same goes for the museum. The museum itself displays art as enticing as the glossy products that are on display in a luxury mall. One would feel compelled to partake and to be part of what lies in front of you. In a mall, it’s easy to belong. You buy what attracts you. In an art museum, you can’t usually do something as easy as you would do in a mall, but you long to be part of this world intellect and beauty. Indeed, I might not be doing justice to the museum experience by comparing it to shopping mall so please take my comparison with a huge tablespoon of salt. The lure of the museum is a higher metaphysical experience that feels timeless , powerful and transcendental. It persuades you to create, reflect and learn. That’s how you complete your rite of initiation and belong. By becoming an active member that contributes to the learning , reflecting and art-making. Museums just have this quality to make me stop in my tracks and encourage me to connect with myself mentally as well as inspire me to keep creating. This type of experience (forgive me for quoting Mastercard ) is priceless, isn’t it?

8.Music (again, duh!) I believe that when something becomes a cliche, there must be a reason for its popularity. After all, old is gold right? Music serves as a source of inspiration for everyone. It can lift you up, break you down, improve the ambience of any setting, be your companion in your daily walks of life. I do allowstudents to listen to music in my lessons( a luxury I didn’t have when I was a student myself). I believe that music is an essential ingredient in creating art. Back when I was 16, my go-to CD ( yes, I am old) was by Bond, a classical pop crossover quartet who was popular in those times. I still periodically go back to listening to them while I am working on an art project. That being said, there is a wide range of music that inspire me from every genre you could possibly imagine. Everyone has their go-to playlist that motivates them. What is your’s?

9.Personal belongings. I am highly convinced that still-life pieces are representative and symbolic of the age they come from. The Dutch had their Vanitas the Spanish the Bodegones, and even the modern painters had their own take on the genre from Van Gogh to Picasso. Personally for me, modern photography pieces of personal items or even random ‘what’s in my bag’ pictures that influencers post are our very own contemporary take on the genre. People are greatly curious of what other people possess in their bags because those items reveal so much about their owner. Indeed, items found in my bag or my daily essential items inspire me because they are visual reminders of my own personal identity. Art is after all an expression of self. You can’t express yourself if you don’t know who you are right?

10. Not fixating on the matter at hand. I have always been an over thinker. God gifted me with an inquiring mind and limitless imagination , but sometimes I let it work against me. I overthink. I obsess. I fixate. Not fixating is definitely difficult to do, but I find that it easier as long as you practise. Indeed, our brain is there to solve our issues on our behalf. The prefrontal cortex is in charge of resolving complicated problems and functions even while we are not consciously thinking of our problems. Can I be as bold as to say that the brain works to resolve issues even better when we are not fixating on an issue? Many a times when I need to brainstorm ideas with my students , I tell some of them that I will need to talk to them again in a couple of days. This is because I know that I need the time to get busy with anything else but to think of this issue. I will naturally have the solution to the issue at hand in a few days. Sometimes contrary to popular belief, the best way out is really to do nothing.  My ability to not focus on something too much when I am stuck in a rut, having writers’ block or artistic lack of creativity aids me in keeping the flame of inspiration burning. Being obsessed with solving an issue would only kill one’s passion and provide no solutions.

11.A true curiosity for life. I am curious about everything. I google the meanings of names of people I meet. I ask myself why houses in Santorini are always washed in blue and white. (I was convinced it was a more patriotic decision than a practical one. )I muse about how this Covid experience would have been without the invention of the internet and mobile phones (probably something experienced by our medieval counterparts in the Middle Ages during the Black Death). Luckily for me, curiosity didn’t kill this cat. My inquisitive nature has always reaped benefits for me, not least in how I leverage on this characteristic in analysing pieces of art.

12.Working on this blog. I only have ten posts on this blog at the last count. In the process of writing these posts, I have learnt so much. I never knew that seventeenth century Neapolitans used to eat pasta with their bare hands. I also never knew that our ancient counterparts used sophisticated forms of colour therapy thousands of years ago. With each new interesting fact I learn, I am left constantly wanting more. I just want to keep reading , learning, exploring and imagining!

These are just some of the things that encourage me to keep my mind busy and running. They are everyday daily things that spur me to keep that zest to keep on producing new content , be it a new blog post , a fresh piece of drawing or just novel ideas about an old masterpiece. What about you? What are the things that keep you going ?