Finding Inspiration for Creating Art

In 2010 I had to figure out what faith looked like so I could paint it. I was creating a series of paintings inspired by the life of St. Nicholas for a church of the same name. While summarizing my research the word faith kept coming back to describe how St. Nicholas lived his life. I couldn't get around faith so I had to dive into it. I now teach the method I used to find my image and I call it The Devotional Art Process. I still practice this process when I am trying to create an artwork to help me understand Biblical truths, solidify important life lessons learned, or remember things I don’t want to forget. I think you'll find this method useful if you too are trying to come up with an original work of art that will communicate more than a mere representation of things that already exists.

The Devotional Art Process

1. Ask God for help. Whenever I begin a new task I say, “Here I am God, use me.” In this way, I am inviting the divine to reveal what he will to me. I am letting inspiration know that I am sitting down to work and it may visit me any time, the sooner the better!
2. Flesh out the concept. I never have trouble with a blank sheet of paper because I just do a brain dump first thing to try to see what I already know or can know. A brain dump looks something like this:

• How would I explain this to a non-native English speaker?
• What was I taught by my school, parents, friends, or church?
• Have I already seen a painting or photograph that communicates this?
• Music – Songs containing the concept in the lyrics or mood.
• Do I know someone like this? Opposite to this?
• What would this smell, taste, sound or feel like?
• Dictionary definition
• Internet search
• Google image search
• Biblegateway.com word search - you’d be surprised what you can learn here from this ancient text!

3. Based on the gathered information, what image would most clearly capture this idea? What image can I actually produce that will capture this idea? Write a description, sketch, or photograph the concepts that come to you. Talk to useful people about your ideas.
4. Create the final image.
5. Share the final image with others and receive feedback.

In my “Faith” painting (pictured above), you see an anchor firmly caught in a cloud to represent St. Nicholas’ faith pointing others to God. I decided on this image because you can't really see "faith", you feel it. It made me think of boating. You can’t see if your anchor is holding onto anything under the water but you can feel it’s found something to hold because you don’t drift away with the tide or current. Likewise, when believers cast the anchor of their faith into the heavens, they learn that God holds them steady through the currents and tides of life.