Many of you have seen artwork made specifically for a certain story. after all, where do illustrations for story books come from? And what about those wonderful jacket covers for our writings? But have you ever considered basing a story around a specific piece of artwork?

It has always been my belief that artwork and writing go hand-in-hand with each other. If it is not true, then why do artists create pieces from our stories? Is it not possible to do the same in reverse? Us create works from their pieces?

There are many times that I have been inspired to write a story when I have seen a specific image on television, or a certain piece of artwork by an artist. As writers, we are counseled to use anything as a source of inspiration, so why not use the artwork we find appealing to us?

Many times I am browsing the web and I come across a certain piece of artwork. It is often called by the same name of a book, or a character in a book, that I have just read. But it is not the same artwork that is displayed on the jacket of the book. Was this artist paid to do their own rendition of what the story meant to them? Maybe so, but not always. Just as we seek to find inspiration from outside sources, so does the artist seek the same. We paint artwork with words, they paint it with a brush.

At times we think as writers, we are of our own breed, able to take literary license when we feel something needs a fresh spin, a new way to be told. I believe that Artists do the same by claiming to an artistic license. They, too, seek fresh inspiration and ways to express the same viewpoint in different ways. This makes us brothers and sisters of the same cause.

They pay us, as writers, many compliments by creating beautiful works of art from their view on what we write . . .I believe we pay them the same type of compliments when a story is created from what has come from their minds and hearts.

Let us draw and write together as one.