Paint it Great

Recently I’ve started back up something that I actually vowed to do ALMOST A YEAR AGO (yeah, I’m a bit behind).  What is it?  Why, painting, of course.  And no, I’m not talking about finger painting either (even though I vowed to get back into that when I was five or so).  Nope.  Oil painting.  Yes, I’m back at it again.

I simply forgot how much I enjoy it.  It was absolutely great to get out on a nice, sun-drenched afternoon here around Dayton, Ohio.  (And having a sun-drenched afternoon in this area often times proves rare.)

The thing about not painting for awhile is once you get back into it, it becomes a question of WHAT to paint.  Houses?  Waterfalls?  Ronald McDonald?

I drove aimlessly around the area trying to find, well, a spot.  Like, the perfect location to park myself and equipment and just go-to-town on creating something.

Part of the reason I enjoy painting is it’s a chance to escape for awhile.  Get away.  I wanted to avoid people at all cost during this first excursion.  I believe I’ll get more bold and crafty with getting back with people around and painting, but not this time.  I wanted to just be me, myself and – I guess that’s all I was after.

SO – without dragging this post out too long, I’ll show you what I was able to come up with.

Painting for me is not about coming up with a pretty picture.  No, not at all.  It’s about just absorbing yourself into the work, again – escaping – and then drifting back to reality when it’s done (sorry for sounding so artsy-fartsy, but hey, it’s true).  And hey, you get to come back home with something.  Painting for me is probably equivalent to why some people enjoy fishing.  I actually try to avoid painting a ‘Happy Little Cloud’ and just go with what I see (with my own spin on it).

Anyhow, back to the location part (then I’ll wrap this up, I swear).

I found a dirt road that was along a river (the Great Miami River, to be exact) and a brown, rusty train bridge.  At any rate, I followed the unpaved drive and it landed my car at an old abandoned DP&L building (that’s Dayton Power & Light, for you out of towners).  The view was workable.  Water.  Bridge.  Trees.  Score!

Lot’s of trains came by as well.  An added bonus.  I’ve always been a bit fond of those things.

So, I spent all day outside.  Painting.

And below is the result.

Oil on canvas (I believe the dimensions are 24″ x 36″ – but don’t quote me on that.

So, the moral of the story is:  If you have something you’ve put off for awhile that you’ve wanted to do, just go out and do it, damn it.  You might find it quite, well, liberating.  I’m anxiously awaiting my next painting.  Maybe next time I’ll be bold and paint around people.  Or not.  Who cares.  Just run with whatever you feel like (I guess I’m prepping myself up here).