Inspiration!

Where oh where do I get my inspiration!!!  First things first, I must be in a happy mood! I can not and will not make art when I'm unhappy! Luckily, I am rarely unhappy. First I paint my wood with my favorite color combinations, and then I start painting with the idea of a bird or owl...lately, though I am coming up with new ideas...giraffees, ice cream cones(a friend's idea! keep the ideas flowing..) flowers or trees and a cow or two...I truly find inspiration everywhere! From Target to driving down the mountain, ideas pop in my head all day. I want to work all day, from sunup to sundown! Seriously, it's become a passion. After I paint my design, I need to find words that are inspiring, encouraging, uplifting, spiritual or just plain fun! Luckily, I am a magazine addict! Truly, I admit it, I LOVE magazines..just as much as books!! I have subscriptions to Self, Shape, Yoga, Health, Runners, Oprah, House Beautiful, Elle Decor, Vanity Fair, This Old House, Real Simple and then of course I buy art magazines that look especially inspiring(they are the most expensive magazines)...obviously I care about my health and my home!! These magazines are wonderful for inspiration...I cut up tons of inspirational messages and plaster them all over my art or I look through books for ideas...poets, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and e.e. cummings are my favorites and I love quotes by Eleanore Roosevelt. I think the "search" for my message takes longer sometimes than the actual art does.