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       To the artists out there who have neither the time, the means or the desire to travel the country and the world in search of subject matter for paintings….it's OK.    I am one of you.  I’ve been a professional artist for decades, but I don’t like to fly or spend time away from my family.  There seems to be a concept today, that you must be well traveled to be recognized as a good artist. I see it as a fallacy. You can be a great artist without a trip to Provence, Hong Kong, or Cuba.  What matters is your skill  and your ability to see and interpret the world around you with a unique vision.   No amount of travel will produce that.    But for some, inspiration certainly comes from new surroundings and exotic locations.  And that’s a good thing…for them.

       My inspiration comes from the small world around me.  Nature is my passion and its just outside my door….or down the road.  A flower is a flower and a bird is a bird,  whether in South Carolina or on the west coast.  Sometimes I feel guilty to not be on the road, clocking thousands of miles and producing landscapes in every state.  Is it unprofessional?  Am I too lazy to seek out new sources of inspiration?  Should I follow the crowd?    I am convinced that travel will not make me a better artist because my best work tends to be of subjects I know and love the best.  

       In times of doubt, I think of Claude Monet.  His most memorable masterpieces were scenes from his garden.  He didn’t. travel to the Alps to paint mountain scenes.   I admire Monet for several reasons, but mostly for his use of color and his ability to repeat the same subject in so many different ways.  Although I have no interest in copying his style,  Monet showed us a different way of seeing the world and his vision influenced artists throughout history.  His work was an expression of the simple things in life and the beauty of constant change.  Likewise, are the works of  Vincent Van Gogh, mostly painted from the window of his hospital room. 

       In our local art community of Charleston, South Carolina, are some of the best painters in the country.  They focus exclusively on the beauty of the low country.  John C. Doyle was an icon of the art scene in this area with his masterful images of wildlife, architecture, and figurative studies.  He stayed mostly in the low country instead of seeking far away locations to paint, yet his work is recognized internationally.  He painted what he loved. 

       I admire my adventurous artist friends who travel the world and produce wonderful images of places I will never see.  But my vision is a simpler one.   I need to be in a comfort zone in order to paint. And I am most comfortable in familiar places.  To those artists who still have children in school and family responsibilities,  to those on limited incomes whose desire to paint exceeds their budget for travel, and to those like myself who just don’t like to wander far from home, keep this in mind.  Paint what you love and paint with passion.  It will be evident on the canvas.  Greatness comes from within not from the outside.