Painting from life is challenging. Not every painting is a pretty picture. It is messy and you have to be on it; getting out and finding a place, setting up, making sure the easel won’t blow over, remembering sun block and bug spray.

Nature is always more fabulous than anything I can dream up. Painting it forces you to engage all your senses while not overthinking it. Then you bring it home and think about it. And maybe rework it – the painter’s dilemma.