I Paint what I WANT to See

Why bother creating a painting that looks like a photo? My iphone is perfectly capable of creating lovely photos. I seek a balance: while a painting might inform me about shapes and their relationships to each other, perhaps I seek a different relationship. While colors and values might inform me about that landscape, perhaps I want to create a shimmer or a vibrancy with a particular emerald blue-green or a hot red. Maybe I want you to notice how light bounces.

So—I see rocks, I see ocean, I see fall leaves. But, but, but… look how they pop in my world! The ocean appear calm, but I like it rough. The sky might be a crystal clear blue, but most of mine are not— I prefer action. Maybe the colors on that gorgeous tree haven’t turned yet; in my mind, they have! And did you know…the Oregon forests are a myriad of blues, yellows, reds, and browns? They aren’t simply green. I don’t even have a tube of green paint on my palette anymore.

When you next walk through the woods, stroll by the river, or gaze at the desert— see what’s there. Then, see it as YOU want to see it!