A Different Kind of Writing Exercise

Painting by Julie Mehretu

Earlier today, one of my friends, who happens to be a poet, started a new kind of game on facebook. She assigned each of several people a noted artist. We were to find a painting by that person and repost. The idea is to instill some beauty into the posts that lately have been negative, angry and more. I googled my artist, one I had no knowledge of prior to today, and selected one of her paintings to post.

Later, I got to thinking that this abstract art might be an interesting photo prompt writing exercise. Usually, we have a scene of a place or someone in the scene to prompt our thoughts into being able to write a paragraph or more.

So, today, spend some time studying this painting, then freewrite whatever it brings to your mind. It could be prose or poetry--your choice. I think we might all be surprised what this painting might bring forth from the depths of our brain bank. Give it a try. Share in the comments section if you like.

Have fun with this one.