Off the top of my head and in no particular order: Megan McIsaac, Justin Ouellette, Jessica Ure, Noah Kalina, Michel Gondry, Kendra Cox, Ryan McGinley, Kyle Johnson, Nirrimi, Lee Aulson, Luciano Noble II, Jessica Ginsberg, and very many more.

I realize that the overwhelming majority of those are photographers, which (to answer the second part of your question) is probably because I derive the most inspiration from artists in fields in which I’m trying to do better myself. I’m not as adept at painting or drawing, so I’m having difficulty thinking of any off the top of my head (though they are there).

This was a tough question to answer. I was all too conscious of how a list like that might make me seem either pretentious or uninspired. But I guess to further answer the “why” part of this question, I really like photos and art with life, art that makes me feel connected to other human beings in ways that don’t always feel possible face to face or in daily conversation. And I don’t think that’s a describable quality, which is why I find inspiration in random places, from individuals’ photos on Ffffl*ckr as well as the artists whose work I follow.

I hope this is not too much or too little of an answer.