Famous paintings are wonderful to study and admire. They also have another life- as prompts for WFW classes.
I regularly use a reproduction from a well-known artist. At one meeting it was Edward Hopper’s “Morning Sun”, In Hopper’s painting a woman is sitting on a bed and looking out her window. I asked the group to write about the thoughts going through the woman’s mind.
This poem was one result:
If Only
I look out at a sun filled sky,
A day full of promise.
Can I accept this offering made to me?

What will it take to open this heart,
To loosen these strangling bonds of steel?
If only,…..if only.
Other paintings I’ve used successfully:
“Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte”, Georges Seurat
“Christina’s World”, Andrew Wyeth
“Woman Peeling Turnips”, Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin
“The Scream”, Edward Munch
Of course they don’t have to be famous paintings. You can also use photographs, or sculpture- anything that evokes emotions.