Travel changes the way you see the world – for artists that new colour, light and textures can be the inspiration for new art.

Our last overseas holiday included a week visiting the Greek island of Crete. We explored the Venetian towns of Rethymno and Chania, saw amazing Minoan art at Knossos, and chilled out on some of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen.

Why Travel is Powerful for Artists

Visiting a completely new place brings a rush of energy – a kind of sensory overload as you absorb new colours, architecture, culture, textures and light.  

As an artist, this excitement and interest in a new place can’t help but become inspiration for future art and patterns.

For me, the goal isn’t to replicate a place exactly, but to translate its atmosphere, memory and visual symbols into something new.

As part of the ocean art exploration I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been re-immersing myself in Crete – looking at my travel photos, reading my travel diary, remembering the inspiration behind my sketches while I was there.

My goal is to create a collection of original art and patterns that capture the colours and feeling of late summer in Crete.

How I photograph a Place for Art Inspiration

Knowing I would use my photographs for art inspiration, when I travel I focus on taking pictures that tell a story – my landscape photos are clean and focussed on one or two key elements, and most of my photographs are of detail, especially textures and visual aspects that capture the feeling of a place.

For example, we visited Elafonisi Beach which had a magical feeling early in the morning. The sand dunes around the beach were covered in these beautiful fragrant white lilies, and I wanted to create imagery that showed how dreamy this landscape was.

These photographs become more than memories, they are practical tools in my creative process. I often refer back to them when developing original artwork or creating repeat pattern designs.

Turning Travel Details into Motifs

When I travel, I write a daily diary and keep a record of those ‘visual symbols’ that I keep seeing and give me a strong sense of place. These symbols may end up becoming motifs that I will use in my art.

The white lilies are just one of the motifs that make me think of a magical Cretan beach.

Capturing the Colour Story of Crete

Similarly, I get a very strong sense of colour when I am in a place, and I will either write down or visually record the colours I associate with that place. When I close my eyes and think of Crete, I see blinding white sand, brilliant aqua, creamy caramel tones, and pops of fluro yellow and pink.

From Memory to Collection

Since returning from this holiday, I have been looking at my photos and sketchbooks, and creating some initial ideas.

This Crete collection is a natural continuation of the ocean art exploration I’ve been exploring over the last few weeks. I’m going to use my experiments with light, texture and colour and shape them into a new Cretan collection of original artworks, limited edition prints, and repeat pattern designs.

I’ll be sharing the journey of this Crete collection – from early sketches to finished original artworks and repeat patterns – with my newsletter subscribers first.