Creating a Vision

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

Everything we do is about choices. What we invite into our lives determines the course of them, often. The same goes for our art. We choose our subjects based on our experiences and preferences. Subconscious ‘visual bias’ is often the reason we select some subjects to paint and ignore others, time after time. Therefore, to fully explore our painting options, it is imperative that we become aware of our native preferences, and override them when a new subject beckons. This can be a little uncomfortable, but the pay-off is a world of new opportunities and visions to explore creatively.

In the June/July 2020 issue No.133 of International Artist magazine, I chronicled, in brief, my process of discovery when choosing a plein air subject. I think that we should trust our first impressions about a subject—they are speaking from the genius artist within. Then, stop and ask the question: “Why?” To answer the why, I often get out a view finder and begin to examine my subject from all angles. I…