Finding a Worthy Motive

In this video, I reflect on how artists decide what is worth painting Sometimes a subject grabs us immediately because of the light, composition, color, or shape. Other times, the deeper reason we care about it only becomes clear after we have spent time observing it.

At Tri B Ranch, I was drawn to an old silo almost immediately. The weathered brick, the morning light, and the way it stood against the sky already felt like a painting. It reminded me of the rural landscapes I have always loved, where an ordinary building becomes almost monumental simply because of the way it sits in the landscape.

As I painted, though, I began learning more about the silo and the farm around it. Hearing its history and watching daily farm life continue nearby gave the subject another layer. The old brick began to suggest endurance and resilience. The quiet setting carried a sense of simplicity, usefulness, and pastoral life.

It brought me back to Edgar Payne’s idea of the “worthy motive,” the quality in a subject that reaches beyond its literal appearance. Sometimes we recognize a good painting visually before we fully understand why it matters to us. The composition or light catches our eye first, and then, through the process of paying attention, the subject begins to suggest something more.

Sometimes an old silo is just an old silo. And sometimes it is endurance standing in the morning light.