Finding Inspiration for Self-Taught Artists

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Christina Varga from the Varga Gallery in Woodstock, New York and on behalf of Expert Village today I’m going to show you how to be a self-taught artist, not an easy thing. My sources of inspiration are mostly the materials that I find on the street. I tend to collect anything, I try to use everything that I have, I’ve used my grandmother’s old photographs, like this one of a nun and this one of a Hungarian soldier. I find pop stars and celebrities from the past like Salvador Dali, very inspirational, Raquel Welch, I think she is fantastic; naked women, very inspirational, naked women are just wonderful. Quotes, David Bowie quotes, those are very important to me. Patterns, inspiration in patterns, inspiration in texture like that, and if you look at this, you can see like travel, I get lots and lots, let me take this off the wall and put it in the light, lots and lots out of travel. That’s a coin from Spain, here’s some Scrabble pieces, that’s a googly eye, my pet Buddy; he’s a source of inspiration. People give me materials, they are inspiring, you know that’s a, that’s a snake skin in vinyl that somebody gave me, wrapping paper from gifts, broken stuff, I don’t care whatever, little pieces of crap, this is from a construction site, I mean you know there is no end. That’s a piece of rusty crap I found on the street, I mean, tetanus shots and what not, anything. I find whoops, watch out, I find inspiration, look at this one, this is really cool, my own private autobahn. Look at the little car, isn’t that great? I found that in the dirt at our house, I dug it out of the mud, I found, look vintage erotica, that is very inspiring, as a matter of fact I did tell you guys I was going to show you my stacks of porn, come follow me, look at me. "