Landscape

You get up, early in the morning, and throw your French Easel into the back of the Jeep and head out to the mountains or the seashore or what ever is outside your door. You have to drive these days, maybe for an hour or so until you are through the rush hour and soon the air is clear and you’re outside and so you scout around for a good location for a bit, standing and scanning the countryside. There’s this rock or tree that gets the ball rolling and your imagination sees something possible that could just about be right and soon you are unpacking your your art supplies, making some bit of land into a mobile studio, unlocking the legs in the easel, looking in your backpack for the water bottle and finding the peanut butter sandwich that you tossed into the bag early before you were awake. Sometimes there’s coffee, if you remembered. Then, there you are, sitting at that white canvas, ready to squeeze out some paint. That’s when I stop, take a deep breath and take it all in. I’m pretty sure this is going to be a good one. I say this at the beginning, knowing full well that there’s only a modest chance it will ever get into the museum. Still, that peanut butter sandwich goes down easy.