Who Inspires your Creativity?

"Vines and Verdant Hills" - Robin Dozier 2021

I love many forms of art. To name a few, dance, theatre, music and..... painting. I love paintings. I've decorated my home with quite a few. But alas, I can not paint. I took a 3-hour watercolor class once. Using a photograph I had taken on a trip, I painted an ocean scene with a boat. Sounds simple enough and I was impressed with my creation in class. And then I took it home. It was at best.... elementary school, second grade work.

Fortunately, there is photography and I've learned over the years that I can take a pretty darn good picture. I love the entire process of photography from beginning (identifying what I want to capture and what I envision it will look like in print) to the end (editing with some imagination).

There is a Black-Native American artist I was introduced to years ago and I adore his work. His name is Richard Mayhew and using acrylic and watercolor paints, he creates "abstract" landscapes using the most vivid and imaginative colors; visualize peach-colored skies, purple mountains majesty, fire-red trees. His works are breathtaking and I cherish a small watercolor of his I was able to acquire years ago.

The other day, I was going through some landscape photographs I had taken on a walk during COVID quarantine. Many were boring and I started to delete them. They lacked anything interesting; there was nothing unique about them. Who needs another green grass/blue sky image? But then as I was about to delete an image with hay-colored dried grass and dull green trees, I thought how I might reimagine it using color. Photoshop to the rescue and with Mayhew as my inspiration, I color-graded an apricot-colored field and a sky with hints of violet. Just unrealistic enough to get your attention but realistic enough where you find yourself wishing you could be there.

"Ritual" - Richard Mayhew 2007

"Sycamore Grove Park" - Robin Dozier 2021