On the Easel in the Studio 1077- From the Bluff

I often start paintings on the coast with the idea of finishing them at home in the studio. Painting on location anywhere is an exciting and challenging experience. There are many who feel the goal of painting on location is to work with speed and finish each piece on location, but I find my goals are more often aligned with the goal of painting that expresses my experience that day while developing an idea separate from the day. An idea from a broader view of my life experiences. Living is a complex array of sensory reflection and emotional responses which paint and painting can successfully express given the time to think. Spontaneity in painting makes powerful statements but the repetitious control required to finish all paintings on location overrides the very intuitive work that springs a painting to life and leaves the painter with the feeling of having been the conduit. I cherish the alls prima plein air paintings I’ve done. They have a sparkle and mystery about them all their own. Paintings begun then finished in the studio offer a quieter quality of thought embedded in the wildness brought indoors. Both have their place in my home and studio.