Subjects: Introduction Where do artists get their ideas? Ideas generally come from the artist's own experience and are transformed in the art-making process into something new. Artists often start with a general subject in mind, and work through it toward a unique, personal vision. The subject serves as the point of departure for a work; it supplies the initial stimulus to an artist's creativity. As the artist explores the subject matter, the subject begins to take on new meaning and is ultimately transformed into the artist's own personal vision. This is why we can look at three images of the exact same children's toy by different artists, and come away with three entirely distinct experiences. One might evoke nostalgia, another might convey loneliness, and still another might seem sinister. The artists may have started with the same subjects, but their destinations are very different. For the sake of convenience, we classify artwork by its subject matter. This is an imperfect system, which doesn't account for the different visions of the artists working within the same subject area — but it gives us a place to start. In exploring art on the NextMonet site, look through the subjects that appeal to you, but don't overlook the other subject areas — you'll find they contain wonderful surprises. The NextMonet catalog is divided into the following six subjects. Click on one to discover more. Landscape Still Life Figure Jeane Umbreit Kay Juricek Mark Stock Narrative Abstract Interior/Exterior M. Louise Stanley Bill Zima Robert Giniewek