What Should I Paint?

I will be the first to admit that, sometimes, I just don't know where to begin when it comes to starting a new painting. Sure, I'm inspired by a million things and have plans for 5-year projects, but when it comes to sitting myself down and starting to paint and draw, it can be a little hard. As part of being an artist you must have a strong practice, which means painting and drawing even if you don't really feel the urgent fire of inspiration at the moment. If you paint all the time, then the chances are greater that you will be with brush in hand the minute inspiration comes.

When I can't think of what to paint,  I sometimes challenged myself with things that I feel may be problematic in my paintings. The bowl painting shown here was difficult for me because of the reflections in the glass, the water and the detail in the lace. It was also a compositional challenge: how to make a successful composition using only one object.
I also had to forgo my love of working with a huge brush and switch to a tiny #2 brush to get all the details.

 The cup below was difficult because of all the subtle shades of white. As you can see, I went too dark and lost some of the subtle beauty of the light paper. It was a fun exercise, and shades of white aside, a rather like the way it came out. 

Below are nature studies. I often gravitate towards those when I feel stuck, and, in general, I like the challenges of painting natural objects. Part of what sparks my imagination is the search for the objects: below on the left is some petrified wood that I enjoyed searching for by the reservoir. The little pink flower next to it I found on top of a compost pile (how Oregonian of me!) I enjoyed painting something that was "condemned" to rot and immortalizing it.
The piece below it is a purple cabbage root (also found in compost pile). I liked how it didn't look like anything recognizable, and had interesting colors and shapes. The subject-matter for your next painting can be hiding in unexpected places, so you have to keep your eyes open (and keep a sketchbook on you at all times!)

Speaking of sketchbooks, here is a reminder to keep drawing, even if it's not your main discipline. I also recommend studying works by other artists. Below are a few sketches I made at the Portland Museum of Art. One is of a cool artifact I found in the Asian wing. I liked the colors and it gave me ideas for objects I might like to paint. On the bottom right is a study I made of a painting by John Singer Sargent. By sketching it, I started to think more about composition, light and color.

I hope this gave you some some ideas to help you get started on your next work of art!

 Happy Painting!