Reading in your Studio.
Chuck Close famously said that professional artists don't need inspiration. They go to the studio and do their work... but just in case you are searching for some sort of inspiration, none the less, read a book about those artists you admire.
Write a list of your top, favorite painters. Afterwards, two things you might notice about them: First, I bet, they were risk takers - secondly, they chose a subject matter and painted it hundreds of times, over and over - always a series about the same subject matter. Richard Diebenkorn's "Ocean Park" series or Monet's series of haystacks are prime examples.
Amazing what you learn when reading the lives of other artists and what might have inspired them to work on their own series, their own work habits and the discipline it takes to stay focused on a theme or subject matter!
But
I digress... be curious and read about other painters. They all have a story to tell.
By the way, my two favorite studio books are Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland. My other book, "Loosen Up Workbook and Studio Notes by yours truly (shameless).
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The above studio lessons, materials and much, much more are featured in my Workshops all over the country!
