I'm about to start a new series of paintings. The first step for me is to collect inspiration. A great place to have all your inspiration gathered together is on a mood board. This is the most valuable tool for me when I start a new series. It gives me a starting point and collates all my inspiration in one easily accessible place.
A mood board is basically just a collection of images and anything that
inspires you. It's a visual reminder of your inspiration.
We use it a lot in design but it's really helpful for any kind of visual project, which is why I use it for my painting process.
What I collect on my mood board is only a starting off point for my series, so that I am not beginning with a blank page and no idea what I want to convey with my paintings. The mood board can change and evolve over time. I don't refer to it constantly while I’m painting. Instead I let the series develop a mind of its own and don’t get too hung up on sticking to my initial ideas.
Finding inspiration
The easiest place to find images is on Pinterest. You have probably used Pinterest before and I do recommend it if you are working on any kind of visual project.
Another great source of images of course are books and magazines, but you can even use small objects, from pretty packaging to dried flowers - anything goes that can be pinned on a board.
I also find it important to go through my own previous work and to see which ideas I have already worked on that I would like to develop further. In my last series, for example, I had a painting with very energetic marks. I would like to take some of that energy and bring it into my new series. Click here to see the painting.
Other paintings I would like to take ideas from into this new series:
You can also add keywords to your mood board to explain further what you want to portray with your paintings. For my series I have chosen these keywords:
Spaciousness
Light and muted colors
Transparency
Hints of energy
You can look at the board I made on Pinterest HERE.
Putting your board together
Once you have collected your inspiration add it to your mood board. I use a cork board that I have wrapped in canvas and pin everything to. I prefer using a physical board where nothing is stuck down permanently. This way I can add to it and take things away whenever I feel like it. I can also hang it somewhere I see it all the time, rather than having a digital one hidden away on my computer.
How I use the mood board
I keep my mood board somewhere I can see it often, so I take in the inspiration subconsciously. I don’t refer to it while I am painting, but when I am stuck I go back to my mood board to check in with my original ideas.
If there's anything that doesn't resonate anymore, or I find something new that I really want to incorporate then I just change it up.
If you paint yourself, or do any kind of art I would love to know if you also use a mood board, or if you start your project in a different way. Let me know!
Watch the video on my process below.
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