quoting my pal Sandy’s blog here with the ulterior motive of chewing on this awhile:
Art, to me, is that way too- you look at as much as possible from all styles and genres and subconsciously gravitate to parts you like and can adapt within your own work. It might be something as subtle as a new viewpoint, say tilting the picture plane a bit, or it can be outright thievery working up a copy of the Mona Lisa. The thing is, borrowing, adapting, taking inspiration, whatever you call it there is a tradition behind it. What must be done is to make it solely yours. That means you bite off big chunks, chew them well, spit out the bones and seeds and fur, chew some more, finally swallow- and then let it sit in your belly until it’s fully digested, only THEN let it out to use. (gross analogy, I know) Tracing your inspirations can be just like tracing your ancestors- you keep what is best from each ancestor, and ignore the black sheep in your various family lines. Think of your imaginary chart of where it all came from! Cool.
