Do It Anyway!

One year ago this month I began painting. Such as they are, these are some of the first paintings I did. As I revisit these paintings, I see some things I would do differently today, in the way of color, values, technique and composition. I have learned a lot in this past year about painting and hopefully have improved a bit. There are many artists, especially in the online art community whose work I admire and have learned from. In any event, I am glad I took the plunge. I love painting and have fun doing it.

The title of this post "Do It Anyway" is one of my favorite songs sung by Martina McBride. These words reflect, in their own way, my philosophy in life. I believe that fear of is the great barrier to success and doing what makes you happy. And anything worth doing is worth the time and effort over the long haul, to become proficient at it, even an expert. So I keep on truckin'... and learning!

The first picture is from Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming. It is a little river with the French name of Belle Fourche, that ran by my campsite. The trees, I was told are very old, and were around when the Native Americans lived on this land. The Tower is sacred to many tribes who visit it even to this day and leave tokens and prayers on a sacred tree at its base. There is a bench under it for sitting and meditating. It is a very spiritual place, whose name is deceiving.

This next painting is near the mouth of the Columbia River, a stormy area near Cape Disappointment, WA.  Across the river is Astoria, Oregon. This is one of the most dangerous places for ships, so I painted this one heading to a safe cove as a storm approaches.


This last picture is of the Three Sisters, mountains near the town of Sisters in central Oregon. A very lovely place, especially when the Lupines, and other wildflowers are in bloom. This is a scene from a hike I went on along one of many trails through these mountains.

One of the things I truly love about Plein Air painting, is that the paintings don't just remind me of places I've been, but they can convey the feelings, experiences and what was special about a place because they are painted into the scene.

You can find the words to Do It Anyway here