Last weekend, I decided to take a break from my writing and head into the mountains. I needed some artistic inspiration.

This blog has been a little dry lately because I’ve been working on getting serious about freelance writing – at the expense of art.

Even this mini trip to the mountains was about work. I wanted to get some high-quality photos of my own to use for my blog posts, reference photos, and design purposes. But maybe work was just an excuse to get out there.

Even in the winter, nature is pretty swell.

Going out and “gathering” material was a good way for me to get out of my computer-screen-and-keyboard bubble and give myself permission to stop and enjoy the scenery. (I would have smelled the roses too, but well, it’s still winter.)

Here are a few textures I thought might look good in backgrounds or Photoshop projects:

Since I was looking for textures, the three colors on this rock immediately caught my eye.

Wood and bark textures are always interesting. There were a lot of fallen and worn down trees, after a recent storm.

I’ll have to make these trips a more regular thing.