VIDEO PAINTING

While driving through the Applegate region of southern Oregon, I was inspired by the many possibilities for paintings. The lighting this time of year is always exceptional for painting, as the sun is never too high in the sky, which makes the shadows more pronounced.

At first I wanted to stop at every inspiring place I saw to take a photo, but by the time I saw anyplace good, I'd already passed it. So, I decided to try a new idea for paintings.

Video.

I like the fact that if you stop the video at a still frame, the image is not crisp and exact, but looks more like a painting. Shapes and colors become more obvious, while detail dissolves. When I paint, I try not to do what I do in drawing, which is photorealism. When working from a photo, this gets hard to do, as the camera makes such an exact image, and it's tempting to try and copy it. But I was more interested in the mood of the sky and the weather today, and now with just one video I've got numerous selections for paintings.

To those of you who are wondering why I was driving a car at all, that's a good question. I really have no excuse.