THERE'S NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN
King Solomon said this a few thousand years ago in the book of Ecclesiastes and it's confirmed (although less elegantly) in a brilliant book I just read entitled STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST by Austin Kleon.
Pablo Picasso said, "Art is theft."
T.S. Eliot wrote "Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different."
Albert Einstein said, "The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide you sources."
I try not to be inspired by other artists, but rather endeavor to pay attention to my own life experiences and to pay attention to the natural world around me. But, sometimes another artist does something just so COOL, I can't help myself. And that's OK. Maybe it's some shape they've developed or a combination of unusual colors they use that hits me in the face and I want to use that too!
It's when someone copies another artist's work and passes it off as their own that it's not OK.
And the whole point of what King Solomon wrote is don't take yourself so seriously. You weren't the first one to think up your fabulous idea anyway. Don't get upset if someone "copies" you or takes "your idea". And it's OK to look at the work of others and use something they've figured out that hasn't entered your mind yet.
