How I am collecting inspiration and growing as an artist
![colorfu abstract paintings](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0466/8024/4385/files/CatherineFreshley_Abstract_studio_600x600.jpg?v=1687028777)
People often ask me what inspires me. For years – a decade? – the answer was pretty straightforward and my paintings were a direct translation of my inspiration. I was very inspired by gorgeous, everyday scenes: A sunset near my home, the lines in a field made by a combine harvesting wheat, big puffy clouds on a summer day. I would photograph those scenes and paint a painting that matched the scene.
In the past couple of years, I have pushed myself as an artist and I feel like I have really grown. I have always been in awe of little details in nature and had a strong appreciation for good product and graphic design (think magazine layouts, a fun print on a dress, gorgeous font on a menu at a nice restaurant), but it’s only recently that I have been learning how to bring these little flashes of inspiration into my art.
For instance, my husband and I took a vacation took two summers ago to a little resort (that’s a euphemism) on Hood Canal in Washington. I loved the reflections in the smooth water and the colors of the water paired with my husband’s swim trunks.
![](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0466/8024/4385/files/20210710_112226_600x600.jpg?v=1687028436)
Painting this scene would be have been so far out of my wheelhouse, so I didn’t know what to do with this source of inspiration. I knew there was something there, though, so I did the sketch you see below and saved the scene and memory in my collection of inspiration bits.
![Sketchbook inspiration by catherine freshley](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0466/8024/4385/files/CatherineFreshley_HoodCanal_Inspiration_600x600.jpg?v=1687028479)
I absolutely love the showy rhododendrons that bloom in the Pacific Northwest in the spring. There is a giant rhodie on my neighborhood running route and I love the shape of it against the sky. But, I don’t paint big bushes or neighborhood yard scenes, so for a long time, I didn’t know what to do with this bit of inspiration.
Now, the curve of the big plant has found it’s way into the painting below. So, the shape/design inspiration comes from a rhododendron and the color inspiration comes from a special vacation.
![abstract painting by catherine freshley](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0466/8024/4385/files/CatherineFreshley_hoodCanalYourShorts_600x600.jpg?v=1687028606)
This painting is part of a collection of seven new paintings. The paintings will be available on my website starting Wednesday, June 21, and will be on display at Arden, a restaurant in Portland’s Pearl District, starting June 22. The show will hang for approximately three months. Sign up for my email list for early access to the paintings.
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