Inspired by Places

Sunny Summer Day in South Carolina, 4.5" x 6.5" Oil on Oil Paper

Places that I know most intimately or places that I visit inspire me. I particularly enjoy going for a run or walk – in new or in familiar places. The emotional impact that the place creates in me inspires me to want to express that in a painting or drawing. It may be the overwhelming color of the area – like the greenest green haze that surrounds you in the foothills of South Carolina in the summer or the cool blue-greens and blues and browns that swirl around you when walking through the Florida marshes.

I usually start an artwork with a purposeful visit to a place, a run or a walk through an area, just emptying my mind and looking.  A second visit finds me with camera in one hand and sketchbook in the other, working to capture some of the sense of place that impressed itself upon me. Sometimes, I sit down and do a few watercolor sketches on location. Later, in my studio, I paint a series of paintings inspired by the place. Do you have a place you would like me to visit and capture in paint?