How do you use your creativity?

Recently, I attended a meeting of the Park City Artist Association, where the group participated in an activity called a "paint-around." In this exercise, a subject—in this case, a still life of a wine bottle and some fruit—was placed in the center of a table. Around the table, 12 artists gathered, each with a small canvas-covered frame in front of them. After 10 minutes, everyone moved to the painting on their left and continued working on the piece now in front of them.

While painting is not my personal creative outlet, I was fascinated by the process. Some of the artists began by sketching the scene with pencil, while others dove straight into the background, and a few focused on fine details, such as painting the grapes.

At the end of the activity, there were a dozen different versions of the same subject. What struck me was how each artist’s individual style influenced the painting that came after theirs. The transitions from one painter to the next created unique blends of styles, showing how the initial strokes could leave a lasting impact. This made me wonder: did the style of the first painter influence the choices of those who followed?

As a photographer, I often say that I "make pictures" rather than simply "take them." Although this saying isn’t original to me, it encapsulates my approach. For me, photography involves much more than pressing a button. It’s about planning—thinking ahead about things like where the sun or moon will be, or whether waiting for the right moment will make the image more powerful. Often, I find myself in locations that, though new to me, have been captured by others before. I strive to bring my own perspective to those places, adding something fresh while respecting the photographers and artists who have documented these iconic scenes before I came to stand in their footprints.

In many ways, I feel like the artists I observed in the paint-around. My goal is to contribute my own vision to images that have already been captured, creating something new while building on what came before.

Thanks for stopping by.