Fallen Tree

Went out last week to Irvine Park to brush up on plein air painting.  In June I am going out plein air painting with Kim VanDerHoek's class.   It is always an adjustment to get set up and ready to paint.  Once ready I did enjoy just being in the quiet and painting.  I felt a little out of it in my approach.  I had too much paint on the surface and a whole lot of slip and slide going on.  I enjoyed being out with my friend Judy.  We both got in the zone and barely spoke a word.  It is very zen!  In the end I was unhappy with what I had done, even though I enjoyed every minute of being there.  Funny how that works.  I took it home and did not look at it again for several days.  In the mean time I did another plein air painting and then went back to look at the first one.  I decided it was a fine attempt and being critical at this point is useless.  Painting is an action.  It is always in movement; a continuing process to observe.  So it is my job to keep it in motion and observe the comings and goings of it's nature order.