I painted this New York street scene the other day. It's been 13 years since I visit that city. Last(and the only) time I was there, I didn't enjoy it that much for various reason. Mostly because I didn't develop the eyes that can see the potential of what's in front of me. The city is filled with beautiful architecture, light and shadow shapes, dramatic scale reference and more! But I was too focus on what I wanted to see back then. My mind is already full and I didn't leave any room for new inspiration!
Fast forward to 2016, I have grown a lot as a person and as an artist. I see painting opportunities all the time. Washington is a beautiful place for natural scenery, but for me that's not it. Good subjects are quite often hidden in plain sight, and they are usually not beautiful sunset sky or a boundless clear ocean. They are nice to gaze at, but not great for painting. and Instead, start looking at your surrounding. I mentioned before what makes a good subject, you'd be surprise to see there are many good subjects around us in our daily life. Just because I live in Seattle doesn't mean I need to keep painting Space Needle. I encourage you to simply drive around your neighborhood and scout the area. Visit those spot in different time of day and season! A plain looking place can look very exciting for painting with the right lighting and season. If you are not able to find a good spot to paint on location or the weather condition is not permitted, take a photo reference and bring your memory and the reference home.
After you are more familiar with scouting good subjects with your surrounding, you will be able to get more out of your next trip. No matter it's Hawaii, New York, Europe or Kansas(if you go there for vacation...), you can always find interesting subject to paint. Quote my mentor Joseph Zbukvic...
“There are no bad subjects...only bad paintings... ”