Follow the Sun – A Little Hippie Vibe Print

For this painting, like most of my landscapes, it started with the sun.

I roughed in a few colors high in the sky and began letting brilliant rays stretch across the canvas, guiding me toward the vibe of the landscape. There wasn’t a path or mountains or all the little details that would eventually fill the landscape. There was simply the sun and the feeling it created.

I took a photo of the rough draft sky colors and posted it to my Instagram story. Then I paired it with Xavier Rudd’s song *Follow the Sun.*

Something clicked.

The song didn’t tell me how the painting should become. Instead, it seemed to give it a voice.

I started listening to music from the 1970s, and it took me back to a time in my life that felt good.

So I followed it.

That feeling began to find its way into the painting. The colors became bolder. The shapes became simpler and more graphic. The winding road, the sweeping rays, and the desert landscape started taking on a distinctly 1970s feel, a little psychedelic, a little nostalgic, and very much my own.

Looking at it now, I think that’s what makes “Follow the Sun” feel same yet a little different from some of my other landscapes. It’s not trying to recreate the desert exactly as it looks. It’s the desert as it feels through a particular memory, a particular era, and a particular moment in my own artistic journey.

And maybe that’s what following the sun is really about.

We don’t always know exactly where we’re going. Sometimes we just recognize a direction that feels right.

The road can wind. We can wander. We can change direction.

Just keep moving toward the light.

Follow the Sun.

Because sometimes we don’t need to know exactly where we’re going.

We simply need to know what direction feels right... and take the next step.

About the Painting

Follow the Sun is an original acrylic desert landscape painting by Wil Adams, featuring a brilliant Southwestern sky, radiating sunlight, colorful desert mountains, and a winding path moving through the landscape.

The painting combines Wil Adams' vibrant, surreal approach to the Southwest with a sense of movement, warmth, and possibility. The winding path becomes an invitation to keep moving forward, even when the destination isn't yet clear.