I Spy Inspiration

New York City almost breaks my neck with all the double takes I do in a day. I notice minutia. It makes me happy to see things that other people don't see. As a kid I raised "I Spy" to a profession, my poor parents almost crashed cars while I screamed things like "look at that laundry! It's an upside down rainbow!!!" or "That dog looks like he's wearing glasses!" It's funny how much this honed skill is vital in my artsy life now. Once in a blue moon I stumble on someone who is the same way.

The Mad Hatter is like this. We walk and one of us says "Look at that building, isn't it weird how the marble fades from gray to white and then back to gray?" The other will follow with something like "Yeah, but look how those pigeons next to the parking lot. They're forming a musical triangle. I think they're about to go West Side Story on us."

I stop at a park and ink a suspenseful moment, a gang of black and brown birds face off against a troupe of white and gray pigeons, a blade held in an angry beak, eyes furrowed. A stranger comes up and says "Are those the Sharks and the Jets?!" He barters me into giving him the sketch in exchange for credit at his Radio Shack franchise. I don't mind because let's be honest, the sketch took five minutes and they looked more like 'The Outsiders' anyway.

So what do we learn? Being observant and using what you see to inspire your art will get you stuff.

Today I'm starting a little game at She Sure is Sketchy, called 'I Spy Inspiration,'
where you can get stuff by making art inspired by one of the photos in this post

These are some of the things that inspired me this week during my New York jaunts.

Who Can Win? YOU!
What Can You Win?! This:

It's an 'I Spy Inspiration Kit'
How Do I Play?
1. Use one or all of the photos in this post to inspire your art. Is your art baking or painting or crafting? Whatever your poison, let the details you spy in the photos inspire you.

2. Come back and leave me a comment with a link to your I Spy Inspiration blog post. so I can see what you were inspired to do. You can embed the photos on your blog from my I Spy Inspiration Flikr Stream if you want.

3.You'll be entered in the drawing when you leave a link leading me to your I Spy Inspiration blog post, sharing what you were inspired to create this week.

4. The Blog Follower Advantage: All of my blog followers are automatically entered in the random drawing I'll do when we pick a winner. Every follower I have by next Wednesday when I Spy Inspiration ends will be entered then too. So if you've always followed my blog you'll be entered twice.

When? We'll draw a winner here at She Sure is Sketchy on Wednesday the 18th of November. So make sure you leave your comment and link back by the evening of the 17th if you want to ensure your participation.

I'm a bit nervous about this new venture into blog candy so help me out and do some great art so we get some fun participation going!

listening to right this second: "bang bang bang" -- tracy chapman