Where does inspiration come from? I find in the creative process that I stat with something and then everything else gets added into it....everything. I do a lot of different kinds of work. Some client based work, some art, journalism and even just snap shots. And everthing I do is influenced by something around me or from my past. I spent a fair amount of time studying the paintings of Thomas Eakins. Seeing his painting 'the Gross Clinic' really had a profound impact on me. But the majority of his work that really attracted me as I studied more and more were his paintings that were simple. I remember thinking about a painting of his of a man standing with his head down was just not finished. As I thought about it more and more I realized that it was. Its a portrait of a man, but many people have come to call it the Thinker. I look back at this painting probably a couple times a year and have used some of the ideas within the painting to make some of my own work and work for clients. I really believe that more I refer back to what I've learned about art and other artists and the more I look back on my own work, the more I grow as a person in creative fields. Its like building blocks I think... SayerMotter photograph by Richard Sayer and reproduction of a painting by Thomas Eakins.