Alphonse Mucha
Trent did a post about the kind of music he listens to while he writes and it made me realise I prefer quiet (not that I get it with 6 kids and a husband who shares the computer room with me). What inspires me is images.
Ever since I discovered the art of Mucha I've loved it. This is one of his more confronting pieces to promote the actress Sarah Bernhardt.
When I write a book or a novella I unconsciously select visuals to go with it. I'd read books on artists in my spare time, and research say, Constantinople including the art and architecture. When I caught myself adjusting my computer desk-top to tie in with the manuscript I was currently writing I finally made the conncection.
Now I actively search out visuals to enrich my mental head-space, while I write. I hunt up art, clothing, architecture and factual details, often drawn from wildly disparate areas. As I write, I create a folder ( imaginatively) called research and drop everything to do with the new book in there.
When I immerse myself in art I find it surfaces in my dreams. These become richly stylised and include back story, and characters with motivation. I wake up feeling as if I've been on a holiday to an exotic place that only exists in my imagination. Who wouldn't write fantasy?
I wonder if musicans dream in music, or comic book artists in line-work?
Cheers, Rowena
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