Not long ago, I found myself knee-deep in paint tubes and brushes, helping a client reorganize her newly renovated art studio. She’s an intermediate acrylic painter, but it had been two years since she’d picked up a brush. As we sorted her paints by color and hue, our conversation drifted to one of my original pieces—Wonderland. Her eyes lingered on the details of the mushrooms and Alice’s face. She admitted that painting portraits had always been a challenge for her, so she was especially drawn to how I captured Alice’s expression.
Eventually, she asked what inspired the piece. I told her how tired I was of the “good girl” vs. “bad girl” narrative that media—especially a certain company that rhymes with Kidney—tends to push. Growing up, I loved the quirky, rebellious energy of Alice in Wonderland. In Wonderland, I wanted to give Alice a bit of an edge, something closer to the Hookah-smoking caterpillar—gruff, cryptic, and condescending. And honestly, I just thought it looked cool! We dove into the painting techniques after.
As we stood there, surrounded by paints and brushes, I couldn’t help but wonder—when was the last time you watched someone else work and felt a flicker of inspiration? Whether it’s in art, business, or just life, what have you picked up by simply observing? Sometimes, those quiet moments of watching can spark something unexpected in your own creative process.
I wanted to show the contrast between neon hues and dark shadows in my artwork below. Do you think I pulled it off?
