meditation

We went to a friend's cabin this weekend and I brought along my painting gear.

view behind the cabin at 6pm

same view next day at 10am

I'd painted the canvas overall yellow awhile back - sometimes I do that with my leftover paint because it makes a nice starting point for future excursions.  Here's how this one progressed, beginning with white:

Directly after that I did a third one.  Laughing, I wedged myself and my gear into a small space between a fence and an old abandoned tractor to get this view.

12pm view

1pm finished painting

My brush puts in more curves than my camera sees, apparently!  But that's part of the fun of doing this: what my eye and hand can make of the present, trying to simplify without losing the feeling of the place.

The best part of painting outdoors, though, is sitting still in one place and gazing intently at the landscape.  Small changes - in the sky, the angle of the sun, the movement of animals - take on greater significance, and not just because I'm trying to catch it with the paint.  I become aware of where I am in a way that is impossible when I'm in motion.  It's very meditative and introspective, and I feel happy and calm.