I know this would have made a nice painting just as a train, but it was never intended to be that straight forward. For a long time I've been contemplating the reality that while we are all responsible for the choices we make in life, sometimes our options are pretty limited. This imagery has come back to me time and time again... sometimes it's like the only choices are to jump off the bridge or get hit by the train. Either way it's gonna hurt... and either way the choice is mine to make.

So the concept finally made it onto the canvas.

While most people prefer to talk about "happy" paintings... like a happy little engine chugging down a track... I have found that my more emotive paintings are the ones that people are actually drawn to the most. They may have a hard time talking about them, but there is something in them that gives voice to feelings we are never taught or allowed to express.

So here's another psychological painting to add to my repertoire.

As I sat at Netarts Bay sketching and journaling I couldn't help but hear the group of kayakers near me. They obviously hadn't checked the tide charts and had arrived to find a low tide. They spent a good 30 minutes trying to decide if it was worth it, or if they should just go home. It sounded like one was a guide or instructor and the others were of vacation. I so wanted to tell them to just go for it! It may not be the perfect conditions, but they were there, they had their gear, and they may not get the opportunity again. I was so relieved when they finally made the choice to make the best of what they had. By the time they were ready to get in their kayaks I had to go. But I did get a few sketches and photos and now a painting of them preparing the kayaks.

How often do we spend our time trying to decide if the conditions are just right? How right do the conditions need to be? When is it worth it to just take a risk and jump in the water? I think we miss too many opportunities to make great memories when we spend too much time weighing options and not enough time getting wet.