Image from Story

Illustration by Steve Moen - Inside the Subway Cave

Most of my paintings are rooted in observation, observing light and how the eye responds to it, and trying to find an interesting emotional interpretation of what I am viewing.   In front of me is usually a landscape, but a figure or still life offers just as much fun.  Heck, a sweet spot can be found with a bank canvas and paints in search of an interesting abstraction.  Whenever I paint the mind is always going somewhere, thinking about stories or about stuff I have read.  This blog is a personal experiment. Playing with a story first and then creating the image.  We will see how the act of story telling works its way into the painting process going forward.

The painting above is based on a climb into the Subway Cave in Sedona, Arizona, found along the way up the Boynton Trail. Yes, inside that cave looking out, it’s hard not to be looking within. Sure some great story telling occurred there ages ago.