What Currently Inspires Me?

 It's easy for me to think of the things that inspire me. What's hard is thinking of the reasons why they inspire me. You may ask, "Is it even necessary to know why you're inspired by certain things?" I say "yes". For me, I think knowing the "why" behind my inspirations explains who I am as a person. Understanding the "why" reveals my self doubt and insecurities. It gives a sort of translation to how my brain ticks. 

My list of what inspires me is pretty short...sexiness (not sex), the female form and face, and my life struggles. Why am I inspired to create art surrounding these topics? I'll break it down for you:

Sexiness 👄

Like I said up top - sexiness but not necessarily sex (though the idea of the current painting I'm working on popped into my head while I was...well...you know 😉). If you look at my art it's never about the act of sex itself but more about the feeling. I sat and thought about this for at least a week or more. Why do I create sexy paintings? The only thing I could think of was I don't necessarily view myself as a "sexy" person. I even doubt if others view me as sexy. I could be wrong but I think most women would like to be thought of as sexy at certain times in their lives. The women that I create are images of how I'd like to see myself - sexy, confident, comfortable in my own skin - but still quiet and demure.

 

"Chocolate Dream" by Arie Debren Art

"Nebula" by Arie Debren Art

"Slay Queen" by Arie Debren Art

In the past year and a half I've shied away from this particular inspiration. I was worried people would find it inappropriate  and the feedback I got from some people confirmed that's how they thought. After literally giving away my old paintings that were deemed too sexy by people who were clearly not my audience, I started creating art that was more "subtle".They were still beautiful pieces but not necessarily expressing anything I felt on the inside.The first thing that comes to mind when I try to describe them is "empty." Completely void of any of my emotions. 

This year I decided I wanted to be more true to myself. Going forward my plan is to not stifle my inspirational influence just to make others feel comfortable. All art ain't for all people. 

The Female Form and Face 🙎

I've already discussed this in another blog post so I won't go into a lot of detail on this topic. But to recap - women are prettier than guys 😂 That's why I like to draw and paint mainly women. I also find myself painting women with what I consider "ideal" body shapes. I want to look like this but because I'm too lazy to go the gym and I love food I can't. So I resort to painting bodies in a way I want my body to look. 

There's also certain facial features that I'm drawn to on a woman that inspires me to draw or paint them. Long necks, doe eyes, thick eyebrows, full lips. Women just make for a better composition in my opinion.

Life Struggles 😩

Sometimes things happen in my life or I struggle with something internally and I feel like the best way to process it is by painting it. I may read a quote that completely sums up exactly what I'm feeling. A quote can personify or create a mental picture in my head of what I'm going through. Once I have that picture I can tweak it to create an interesting concept for an art piece.

I'd love to know what inspires other creatives and why. Do you think your inspirations speak to who you are as a person? Comment below and share your thoughts.

To check out my current collection please visit my online shop at www.ariedebrenart.com .