An easy way to choose a great painting subject

Everything is a subject; the subject is yourself. It is within yourself that you must look and not around you....The greatest happiness is to reveal it to others, to study oneself, to paint oneself continually in [one's] work." Eugène Delacroix

  Good subjects are found in life: still life, life studies, outdoor painting. Observe, select, simplify and organize objects in a picture that describes your response to what you see. Recently, I bought a $5 plastic viewfinder and it's useful for some isolating the area I want to concentrate on. I am looking to quickly work out the most economical way to describe the idea that caught me at the beginning.

  In a couple of weeks, I am participating in a wet paint auction. Recently, I went to my chosen location for the event with the idea of making a couple of sketches in order to decide on a subject. Walking around, I used my phone to shoot a few ideas. How do you like that bird- he was following me around!

  Although I think that some version of the long view with the house in the distance might make an interesting painting, and it is the more classic landscape idea, it was the yellow chairs in front of the iconic old white clapboard farmhouse that I kept returning to. Was it too simple a composition? It felt interesting to me, the colors interacting and the feel of the early summer sunny day. My best advice is too use your gut feeling and do a painting that calls you without second guessing yourself.

  The finished painting:

"Christmas Tree Farm" • 12" x 12" • oil on canvas • private collection

Here's the information about the upcoming auction: http://www.capelandtrust.org/get-involved/paint-for-preservation/