Art I find intriguing

Since most folks are lolling about at home today, including myself, here’s a simple diversion from whatever productive tasks you’ve just now managed to get yourself worked up for:

http://thebrothersart.com/section/2281.html

I enjoy something of the surreal in art because it lets me pick out whatever details I want to see and attach some sort of story or background to the painting. I can see a chess board…maybe a war between good and evil…a conflict between wizards that is reshaping reality…whatever the mind can conjure, it can then twist the art into that mode of thought. It’s fun, kind of like those 3D Magic Eye puzzles.

I also find that these types of paintings, where the borders break down and various elements bleed into each other, makes for the occasional inspiration or mental stimulus for a story I’m working on. The painting can portray a particular emotion I’m trying to capture, or suggest some oddity of character or environment that I can then place in a scene.

What about you? Do you turn to visual art as inspiration? I know some writers who sketch and draw while working out a story, helping themselves imagine the world and characters. Other people turn to music to give themselves the energy or mood for a chapter. I like how the various methods and modes of art interweave, a sculpture inspiring a story which inspires a song which then inspires a poem. Do you have any particular artists that you turn to when you want a fresh spark to set an idea on fire?

I see that smile.