Yesterday as I walked along the trail, I thought about my current interest in painting. I have but a finite number of years left as a painter. 
I have learned in the last ten years to paint what I truly love and what really speaks to me. I no longer think about what people might or might not buy from artists. My only regret is that I didn’t learn this many years ago, when I was desperately trying to figure out what art would sell. 

Painting what you truly love makes you the best you can be.  I have loved farm and ranch lands, rivers and lakes, our southern trees and wild places all my life. I grew up on rural land and hung around with my daddy’s farmer friends when I was a kid. As a mature painter, I began to focus more and more on these subjects I know and love so much.  

I no longer do commissions of things I have no interest in. Happily, there are enough kind folk who love the places I love too. It is a relief for me to know I don’t have to do art that doesn’t interest me. My advice to painters is to work hard. Study every day, and paint what you love. That will bring you success. Authenticity really  matters. You can’t fake it. My collectors know that I study my subjects and I love and understand them.

Country painters love land…..