Inspiration

I steal inspiration wherever I can...for my writing it may be incidental conversations I have with my customers; I tend to write down ideas that spring from these talks on my computer notepad.  I actually have a doodle notepad set up to copy and paste selected items.  This has a steady stream of things I have been pasting into it since I got this computer.  There are blogs I want to visit, articles I want to read,  web addresses containing information I pull for my blogging, or a list of things I don't want to forget.  But I seldom open it unless it is to add another item.  So as I read it some things amuse me, some things don't tickle anything in my memory.  Sometimes it is obvious what the point was.  Here is a short example of a section in my notepad:

check on 934 Whittier for aliens.....
concierge   keeper of the candles
oldest known animal was quahog  (clam)  405 yrs old; scientists had to kill it to determine its age.  freaking ironic!



With my painting I snip puzzles,  grab photos with beautiful scenes.  I study them.  Sometimes my very talented daughter will photo shop one of her images she snaps with her phone.  I use those as backgrounds on my computer;  this is an easy location for pulling inspiration.  But I wind up with so many folders to keep all of these because I am unorganized.  The clutter on my computer may be a reflection of my brain, echoing the way I live.  Here is a terrific example of her creativity, and it would make a marvelous painting:

What is lacking in this formula for creativity?  I know that it is me.  So many years of thinking about these things have carried over and all I do is think.  At times I believe I use other people to validate me, forgetting that the validations should come from within.  Painting is fun when I have someone else to paint with.  Otherwise I feel like I should be doing something else. Other times it really is my life getting in my way -- sadly nothing fun or exciting.  I haven't gone the the movies with my son in months;  my routine is work, store, home, watch the birds, sit with mom.  I don't even take care of home business.  My niece has created a routine of coming over and doing the heavy cleaning.  I allow guilt to creep in.  When that is there nothing is done.

So now that it is March 3 -- the days are ticking away -- I am going to teach this old dog a new trick.  I am going to commit to creativity, add some beauty to my life.  After all, the name of my blog was created to reflect painting water colors; the intention of the blog was to share to paintings I create.  So it is time to create, damn it!