The Search for Universal Inspiration

Inspiration is something every artist looks for. It’s not a mysterious force or a romantic idea—it’s the practical fuel behind making art. Without it, the work stalls. With it, things move. But where does it come from, and how does it show up in the work of artists like Chris Green-Martinez?

Taos Mountain from Cuchillo Road

CGM painted the view from her front yard in Ranchos de Taos. Sometimes inspiration is right in front of you.

The Everyday Search

Most artists don’t wait around for inspiration to strike. They look for it. Sometimes it comes from reading, walking, listening to music, or just paying attention to what’s happening around them. It’s about observation—being present, catching ideas in motion, and knowing when something feels worth exploring.

Inspiration isn’t always profound. It might come from something ordinary: a certain light at a specific time of day, a phrase in a conversation, or a detail in a book or film. What matters is how the artist filters it: the process of noticing, interpreting, and applying.

Common Sources of Inspiration

Nature is a big one. So is personal experience—grief, joy, confusion, change. Artists also respond to stories, symbols, and history. Religious themes, for instance, have fueled centuries of artwork for what they represent: ideas, emotions, and cultural meaning.

CGM’s work often connects observation with symbolism, rooted in both her environment and her internal questions. She doesn’t paint to match a trend—she paints to explore an idea.

How Chris Works with Inspiration

Pentecost Dove

CGM finds inspiration from many sources. The Pentecost story from the bible is just one of many.

Take The Dove. It’s based on Pentecost, a moment in Christian tradition when the Holy Spirit descends from heaven in the form of a dove. Chris approached this theme not by copying a traditional image, but by thinking about what that symbolic moment means —arrival, transformation, and quiet power.

That’s how she tends to work: pulling from specific sources, asking what they mean to her, and then translating that meaning into form, color, and movement. Her inspiration isn’t random—it’s research, reflection, and response.

Why It Matters

People often assume artists wait around for a wave of creativity. In reality, it’s more like tracking weather: watching the sky, feeling the pressure change, and knowing when to act. Chris Green-Martinez’s art is a result of staying alert to those shifts and building work around what she finds.

Inspiration is real, but it’s not magic. It’s part of the job—just like mixing paint or framing a canvas. And when it’s handled with thought and intention, like in Chris’s work, it shows.