There is another dubious understanding of “inspiration” in relation to art, that I really think needs to be questioned. We are familiar with the phrase “a flash of inspiration”. The assumption seems to be that an idea enters the head, more or less complete, in a sudden moment of enlightenment. It is rather as if the arrival of an artistic idea is like the arrival of Dr. Who’s Tardis. There might be a few moments of mysterious grinding, but then, quite suddenly, there it is!
I’m now into the third day of working on a picture, and one of the most interesting things about it, as far as I am concerned, is the way in which it is developing. OK: I had an idea to kick off the process. There have been, however, at least two moments in the maturation of that concept when it has changed its character quite significantly. As soon as I began to apply paint it became clear that it was going to have a particular “feel” that I had not anticipated. I know that I want to introduce another important change to the thing, but I am still feeling my way around that intuition, and it might well be some time before I have the confidence to commit myself to marks on the canvas.
I think that my point is that all of this process could be called, with some justification, “inspiration”. We really do need to reexamine the notion of artistic “inspiration”, not just to demystify it, but certainly to clarify it. Otherwise, people who are not experiencing these sudden “flashes” are never going to have the confidence to engage with the process of applying and developing their talent.