Ravine, February 14th/2010, 2:40 p.m.

I walked to the very back of a favourite field and around the rim that led down into this gully....the perspective and views change radically in this hilled country, over very short distances. The land is full of surprises....a bit further up, one could see for miles over various elevations going northward.

Acrylic on gessoed paper, listed on Etsy.

Seedlings

All I ever need to know is the next step...well, sometimes maybe 3-4 steps ahead. I wasn't very happy with setting the first shapes so large, but the interest in the colour relationships took over. I knew suggesting the tender littleness of the seedlings would be a nice surprise kept for the very end. The pleasure in finding surprising but suitable colours keeps the building of the piece going. I liked finding the light splotch colours for the front of of the carton...and the yellow on the side was also cool to find. The background was supposed to be much simpler in the early stages...gradually it got much more complex than this...but I simplified it.

I'm glad the picture got made....something to record this delicate little growth. Every day I see things that should be made into pictures...I make a note, and quite often never get back to them.

Field, Late June

From a special time, summer 2008.....my time was my own and the season was still young. In late June the field was at its richest green, in a very quiet, isolated area....hard to get to. Acrylic on gessoed paper....the paint is handled quickly and each work is completed within an hour or two. There is a reason the work is small....it needs to seem easy, almost accidental and insignificant...and related to play. If things get over-controlled the work is dead before the paint is dry. The small scale encourages surprises.