At the moment I am feeling inspired by the work of Czech artist Alphonse Mucha. His work, mostly in the Art Nouveau style, focuses on the female form, mood and expression. His characters stand amid flowing clothing, elements of nature, halos, archways and pastel colour schemes.
His work can only be described as beautiful, even in his more dark and sinister pieces. He portrays his subjects just as they are, be it angelic, powerful, coy, hurt, mocking or confident. It is because of this they inspire me: the reminder that the slightest detail can portray an emotion, an action, a theme or a snapshot in time.
This is particularly poignant to me as a writer in terms of building up the many faces of a character. Each personality can contain all of the above and more. Mucha’s success in capturing this is an incredible reminder of what we all have under our skin and what we portray in our different moods.
I have hung one of Mucha’s pictures next to my writing desk to remind me of this, so that next time I am inventing characters I will remember to make them rounded, changeable and more importantly, real.
Elloise Hopkins.
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