To Copy or Not to Copy...?

Where do you get inspiration for your work?

Whether you make cards or scrapbook, tags or art journal pages,  there are a TON of sources for inspiration available.  Personally I love to look at blogs and magazines and books on art journals.  Sometimes I come across a pages and (mentally) scream "I WANT TO MAKE THAT!!".  So,  I will turn the corner down of the magazine page or bookmark the web page, intending to return to it later when I have time ( and the inclination to create).  Sometimes  I return and sometimes I don't.  When  I do, I inevitably look at the inspiration page/article/book and feel guilty about the notion of copying.  I feel like I should be creating my own original art, not just copying someone else's. 

Is it wrong to copy?

I think copying is okay when you need to copy to learn how to do something.  You copy to learn the technique or the skill and once you have mastered the skill,  you introduce your creativity into the process.  And inevitably I find that when I am attempting to "recreate" something I have seen,  I don't have the same supplies as the original artist so  I get a different result anyway. In those instances I would say that my work is original, but "influenced by".  ( Side note-  A similar argument did not turn out so well for Robin Thicke, recently)

When copying goes wrong...

Recently, I set out to "take inspiration" from an art journal page published in  "Paint Mojo" by Tracy Verdugo.

Tracy's work is bright and colorful and vibrant. When I was flipping through it for inspiration,  I my conscious thought was not to create the same pages but  I wanted to create the same feel in my journal page.  I  thought the best way to do it was to follow the same steps Tracy describes in the book but to make it my own.  Here is the page I used as inspiration. She calls it a "sacred transformation painting":

I just love the color in this photo.  I especially love that she uses both warm and cool colors.

Unfortunately,  My version did not turn out as well:

I would call this one of my most unsuccessful pages in a loooooong time.    As  I was creating it I realized that I was not "inspired" .  And  I can't draw.  So,  as much as I was loving putting the color on the page.  I do not love the result.   Ultimately, I am going to gesso over this page.  Or cut it out.  Or something.  But first I thought I  would post it here and maybe serve as a cautionary tale.  I think the lesson is to make sure you are properly inspired when creating your art.   I was not and I think the page fails as a result.