Painting beyond the scene

West Wind Blows, original painting, 12 x 16, impressionistic, Kit Miracle

Artists are known for traveling over the world seeking new things to paint.  I have done so myself and have captured many scenes of my travels over the years.

I don’t know why travel is so inspiring but maybe it makes us see the world with new eyes.  We return home refreshed and look at our surroundings in a new way.

However, we don’t need to go away to appreciate what we have.  It is often right there before us.  A new light, a different angle, maybe the same scene in a different season.

This is a scene that I have passed thousands of times. I’ve always liked this valley with the hills but on this particular day, it really pulled at my attention.  Maybe it was the backlit clouds scudding across the sky.  Maybe it was the farm in the valley.  I even found the shadows of the trees across the pasture interesting.

West Wind Blows, detail, painting, Kit Miracle

Of course, I took some artistic license….like I need a license…and edited the landscape to suit myself. But compare the original photo to the scene that I captured. A little editing maybe but any local person would recognize this place.

West Wind Blows, original photo for painting

I’m teaching a class on painting from photographs.  One of the points that I’ve been trying to get across to my students is to use a photograph as a tool, a place to start, but you don’t have to be religious to the exact photo.  It is up to you, the artist, to change it to suit your needs and desires.

It’s a warm wind, the west wind, filled with bird cries.

John Masefield

West Wind Blows