Using art for inspiration?

Yes. Definitely.
I like to browse through the fantasy art at Elfwood, or my favorite artists' websites.
Sometimes just pictures of nature, or architecture, are great inspiration.

I snapped this picture when I was snowmobiling in the Snowy Range. The atmosphere, the feeling, it was something I wanted to capture and keep. A cold sun through the trees.

It's so easy to imagine my characters there.

Oops. Forgot how big that picture was; have to use a thumbnail.

I go to art museums regularly. My personal favorite here in Los Angeles is the Huntington as they do a phenomenal job of giving background for the pieces on display. The stories behind the a lot of the paintings are fascinating (and sometimes would be interesting even without the painting).

Huntington is fabulous and a very good source for inspirations.

I definitely do get inspired when I look at art, though not necessarily for writing. I find it works other way around too. I do get inspired to draw from writings as well.

Most definitely, in my forum I have a section just for this. I supply pictures of various things to help inspire writers into something...even if it doesn't help with what you are currently writing, I think it is a great excercise!

Oh yes! All kinds of romantic, fantasy art, but I am really inspired by architecture and nature, and art that includes those two things. My desktop pictures are often a combination of the two. I also have lots of architectural pictures from calendars on the wall. I don't know what it is about them - I guess they give me a place to imagine my story taking place in.

perfect example:

JJM said:

Something new I realized about myself, I can really get my creative juices flowing when I witness art, just about any art will do, not really sure why.
Found it out when I was browsing the coverart for the AnthologyBuilder contest, my mind was just supplying stories to go with the pictures as I went along, was kinda freaky 0.0

Do you guys ever do that? Just browse through art so it can inspire you to write?

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I do, yes. Also, I draw my own art for character references, world-building, and other cool aspects of my writing. I thoroughly enjoy drawing and also looking through art online, because it does get my creative juices flowing.

I think art, in the form of music, always helps the best.

I don't know why but when I hear good music - I make good writing. At least, writing that looks good to me.

I've found a lot of inspiration in places like this: http://www.cgsociety.org/ and at my favorite artists' websites.

caromora said:

I've found a lot of inspiration in places like this: http://www.cgsociety.org/ and at my favorite artists' websites.

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I can spend hours there before I realize it. Excellent spot to get lost in art and renew the muse

... once worked on a WIP in an art museum, till a security guard began giving me suspicious looks.

I do it ALL THE TIME for poetry. Here's one I did back in January:

Dali Art as Fuel for Poetic Fire

Not usually. But I did have an entire short story (I rarely get entire stories at once) pop into my head while looking at a sculpture in a gallery. But it's horror, and it's bee a while since I've written that, so I'm letting it sit in my head for a while.

I have written six thousand pages of notes inspired by this picture alone. Photography is art as well.

Absolutely - paintings, photographs, poetry, film and stage, sculpture, music. For me, immersing myself in "art" is the best way to get unstuck and/or inspired.

A picture of the girl in my avatar (actress Emilie De Ravin) inspired me to write The Duchess' Ring. I had no idea what it was going to be about, but I knew that she was the female MC. Does that count?

Yes! I love art of all kinds. My dad and grandpa were both professional painters -- very talented, just incredible artists. So I grew up with a strong appreciation for art. I am a little bit of an artist myself. I paint with watercolors and pastels. I don't have any desire to do it professionally, but I do work hard at it all the same.

Whenever I feel my creative tide ebbing for the writing, I get out and paint plein air, or I go to a museum, or I take a drive and listen to opera. It's a good recharger.

Fragonard's paintings usually give me some ideas for mood and imagery. He was amazing. And I love the mundane/weird contrast of Andew Wyeth. The biggest of the local art museums is having a Wyeth exhibit through the summer. I need to go see!

*sigh* I love art. We're incredible animals, to make such beautiful things just for the sake of beauty.

Art inspires me as well. but the one that really keeps that inspiration going is music. Whether it's rock music or video game music, the inspiration keeps on flowing. Without music its much harder...

My WIP, which is my first attempt to write a novel came about from drawings I had done. I am definitely a painter/illustrator before I am a writer. I came here to learn the writing craft.

It started as a bunch of drawings and writing about alien species of animals. Then the world they came from. After that people started emerging. Then the people started doing stuff and I began taking notes with a pen and lined paper instead of graphite and paint.

Yup, I'm ispired by art as well and like Sean D. Schaffer, I like to draw my own characters/creatures/world as it helps me visualize things better. But more than anything, I derive most of my inspiration from music. Every single time I'm listening to music, there will be some lyric that will bounce around in my head and go haywire! That's how a lot of my stories start out-- with something that someone sang in a song.

I can't draw squat.

I do look online for pictures that could be in my genre. I have an extensive gallery of pictures ranging from elegant to terrifying.

Here's a challenge: Write a novel using a Hieronymus Bosch painting as inspiration.