This is my Austria.

It certainly is not a traditional illustration of the peaceful Eastern Empire, but I wanted to show you more. I wanted you to see what I see and how I feel. The landscape is beautiful and breathtaking; it is clear streams trickling at the foot of mountains, it is lush hillsides and fields that lay for miles, it is beautifully painted homes and farms, and I am inspired and invigorated.

My eyes are no different than yours. I do not look through a vivid-filter. The greens, especially on a sunny day, truly are this blinding. It’s a friendly explosion for your senses. The color is beautiful. It is terribly bright and alive. And as I travel by; I see so many wonderful shapes, shadows, and patterns. It’s disabling. I stare; wondering what I could possibly do to capture what I’m feeling so I can share it with everyone who isn’t here. I should be more selfish, but I’m not. I am only armed with one weapon to combat this evil…a camera. I take a picture.

Once back at home I stare at the photo…admiring…remembering…until I finally get on my own nerves.

“Stop drooling over the memory and paint it already”, I say. “Make it your reality once more, but make it look as if it indeed belongs to you.”

I took the photograph last September, Labor day weekend. We had been camping in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Partenkirchen is the Austrian side of the town. Garmisch is the German side. At this particular moment I wasn’t anywhere particularly stunning, but I walked around a hillside and the sunlight was just blasting this countryside and it looked awesome.

During my last art-supply order I found a sale on neon acrylics. I couldn’t resist the purchase. This painting is my first work using the newest additions to my arsenal. It will not be the last. I might need to start selling my paintings with sunglasses.