The Work of Anna Miller

 I draw my inspiration for art from the community. Through my friends, family, and my teachers, I have been shown that having fun, for me, is the way of doing artwork. If I am not having fun, I tend to get bored or burn out too quickly and unable to finish the piece. But with my friends and my teacher, I am able to have the motivation needed to do the quality art that I want to achieve. I tend to focus on art that I can put my twist on. 

I find architecture more inspirational to me to draw than landscape. I love architecture from Europe or older buildings in general, because it shows how much work was put into one building. Old castles in Europe help me draw inspiration to see them in a different perspective and draw them. I love being able to draw buildings to show how much patience and work was put into a building. To me it is amazing the detail and hard work each person put in the buildings. One of my favorite things about art is being able to do whatever you want in a piece. For charcoal and pastels, you are able to use your hands and be able to get your hands dirty. Beings hands on, as some would say it, makes me feel in control of my artwork and helps me work harder and harder into a piece. I have found the more mess I make, the better and more confident I am about a piece. The control I feel with charcoal and pastels, helps me know that I am doing this work compared to if I used a blending tool to do the job. I need to know that I, myself, am doing all the work that I can possibly do. 

Through my friends and my teachers, I am able to see my full potential in a piece. Without my teacher I would not be able to see how something is off. Even though sometimes, I am seeing the artwork in a completely different way, my teacher is able to help me see it from a different perspective and be able to put my best effort in my artwork. My friends are also a huge part of the process. They help me make decisions, because I am a very in-decisive person. It is hard for me to just find a reference photo and know exactly how I want to draw it. My friends also help me come back down to Earth. Sometimes I dream too big and it helps me when my friend reminds me I have a time limit. Without my art community, I would not be able to produce the art I do. 

Traveling to Europe also was a huge inspiration for me. Everywhere I went, I photographed it, so I would never forget it. I love photography and with that love I am able to see how I want a perspective on my art. Photography, for me, helps me see the world in a different and more beautiful perspective. Like my friends and teachers, photography shows me different ways to look at art and how I want to show the world what I am seeing. 

Everything in my life, one way or another, helps me and my art. If you took one thing away, I am unable to produce the art my teacher wants me to do. Just being in school itself, helps me to focus and see my full potential in the art world. Without everything in my life, I would be a dull person, producing dull pieces of art.