Art is everywhere. Theres the obvious stream of media beamed into our homes through electronic devices as well as products such as furniture, clothing, cleaning products… anything produced has felt an artists touch. All of these things have the potential to influence or inspire. Artistic influence and inspiration dont have to come from other art but thats where my focus us today.

One of my biggest influences is Art Nouveau, particularly the line work. I like the strength of the lines that pop up often in this style whether in illustration, architecture, or elsewhere. There’s a certain flow through somewhat dramatic elements. I don’t often emulate the general subject matter you might find in pieces by art nouveau names like Alphonse Mucha, not so directly, but I strive to capture certain similarities in the feel of my lines. The other day I decided to step a little deeper into the style with a few pieces, some more than others.

Thanks to Uriel Reyes for the original photo. Amazing photographer. Beautiful portraits. Click to see more of his work.

Art Nouveau tends to play both the roll of inspiration and influence for me.

The problem comes when I stumble across pieces that inspire me, begging me to take from their pot, but I don’t feel they would be helpful in finding my voice. For example, the other day I stumbled across the art of Abigail Larson.

Sample (click the image to see more of her work, she’s quite talented.)

This was created by Abigail Larson. All credit to her.

I love the style of this piece. So much about it stands out to me and makes me want to create something similar but this isn’t where I truly want to go artistically with my own work.

There’s nothing wrong with trying new things, in fact I would say its encouraged for every artist and helps with growth; just that we toe a razors edge between where we find inspiration and where we find influence.