Sketches from quito

I spent the last week and a half in Quito, and while I did not get as much done as I had hoped, I spent a fair amount of time doing some watercolors. They are based on what I could see from the apartment of James Crall and Brian Chen, on the top of a hill with a gorgeous view. The scenery from the window was so familiar, as I spent many years looking out similar windows, onto similarly gorgeous views. Although I was originally reluctant to let the Andes and landscape inform my painting, how could I spend a week in Quito and not be influenced by the mountains?







I also ended up painting shapes and shadows from the houses across the street. As I was painting at night time, I'm sure the neighbors could see me, but my image was blurred and with little definition. I occasionally allowed the reflections that I was getting from the windows to be a part of my composition, as well. The colors ended up being muted and dark, which I enjoy. I found it actually quite difficult to get very dark values, as the translucent nature of watercolors lets so much white through the pigment. But I had fun layering the paint and finding darkness this way.


While it is great that I found and had access to such an inspiring source for my painting this past week, I am left with the same problem of subject upon my return to good old Philadelphia. I know that I want to paint, and I know that I enjoy painting, but what am I supposed to paint? (See Becket Ming Flannery's A Question on Being Minimal-ish) Even though I have figured out that I don't necessarily need content in my work, which sets me apart from Flannery, I still need a subject or a source to work from. How do I find a source without making it become content? Alternatively, how do I find a source without it becoming arbitrary or trite?