Shutterbuggin'

The painting shown here is titled "Friday Afternoon Hike, No. 2", and was inspired by a photograph I took this past summer in Oregon. I love to work from photographs that I have taken, and it really struck me as I was working on this piece what an asset the camera is to a painter.

My father, Jerry, is a professional photographer (have a look at his website: www.thefilmbox.net) , so I have had the good fortune to learn about composition and photography all of my life. It's exciting to be able to use one form of art to spawn new ideas in another form.

As I said before, the camera is a great asset to the painter, but only if the camera is with the painter to capture those awesome images. It is natural to take the camera along on trips or vacations, but how many of us keep the camera close at hand when we are crossing town to go to the grocery store or stop by the bank? The most mundane of daily errands can often take us by some spectacular scenes or bear witness to beautiful skies that we never expected. I can't begin to count the number of times I have been out in my truck just "taking care of business", only to come across a beautiful scene I had never noticed before or saw beautiful clouds rolling across the sky and creating dramatic, back-lit forms in front of the hot afternoon sun. I would reach for my camera but, lo and behold, it would be in my studio at home.

Cameras in the digital age continue to grow smaller and more convenient than ever before, so we really have no excuses! Keep the camera close at hand, whether on the road to the beach or the dry cleaners, as you never know when you'll see something beautiful. Inspiration may be just around the next curve!