Watch the winners give their acceptance speech at any Award show and you'll hear a list, (sometimes a long and boring one), of people who have helped the award recipient along the way.

While there's no doubt that there are people in our lives who have already exerted an influence on us, whether good or bad, this isn't something you should leave to chance. If we are lucky enough to have had a teacher or mentor that has inspired us to do great works, then that's good. If not, we have to find our own.

Inspirational people don't have to be our closest friends or relatives, although how lucky are you if they are. They can be someone in history, or in the media spotlight, or in a local business. You can have as many mentors as you want or need.

One of my personal inspirations is the artist David Hockney. I've never met him, but for several reasons he is someone I look up to. Born in the same English county of Yorkshire as me, his energetic and colorful paintings are something I greatly admire. His globe-trotting life, living and working in locales in Europe, America and Asia, is a testament to getting out of your own comfortable place and exploring other cultures. His art spans paintings, prints, photography, faxes, digital art, and costume design, a reminder to let your art find its own expression whatever format that takes.

In your own experience reading about key individuals in your field, taking workshops from them, or analyzing their work for creative inspiration, all combine to being a positive inspiration in your own work. If you haven't yet found one person who inspires you, I challenge you to find one. Soon.

David Hockney Official Website