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The summer of 2024, I took artists on 2 trips to Europe: Portugal and Sicily. After Portugal, I thought Sicily didn't compare. However, in hindsight, I am haunted by the dramatic Sicilian Landscape. We rented a car and drove across the island, where I was struck with a sense of Forboding! The desert hills and Jagged mountains felt like a land of giants! Any minute, a monster was going to pluck our car up and crush us. It was very dramatic! I took numerous photos as my friend drove, and this painting is a composite of photos and memory. I think my reaction was strong because we lived in El Paso for 7 years, and I learned to love the beautiful but unforgiving desert mountain landscape. Sicily's interior reminds me of Big Bend, lonely and barren but possessing a particular kind of beauty! The huge cumulonimbus clouds above us cast fast-moving shadows across the land, and there was evidence of flash floods in the canyons below. What kind of hardy people live here? Hopefully, this painting captures my sense of awe for Sicily and the desert landscape.

One of the pleasures and challenges of pleinair painting is finding interesting color in a wall of green. In the morning, the sun is a soft pink color at the horizon line if you are lucky. Then the greens in the distance are much cooler and lighter, so there is that. However, the best place to look for color is in warm and cool greens. In other words, greens that have orange in them and greens that are primarily blue-green. Then there are greens with white and greens with cool yellow. Ah, and then there are purple shadows! However, like everything, you have to practice looking for all the colors before you can see them in Nature. This is where the" Art of Looking" comes into play! One trick is to start with a red or orange-toned canvas. Then, if all else fails, you have a little complementary color peeking through. And speaking of peeking through, I was mainly attracted to the way the cool yellow light peeked through those trees. It was a strong Dark next to a strong Light! Bingo! A Focal Point!

I just got into the Prestigious California Art Show with the painting above. This is a National Show, so I had stiff competition. I particularly like this painting because it is not your normal focus. The shadow is the focus, and not the pond, which gives it its unique perspective. The judges must have agreed. This is another example of Pleinair painting producing surprising gifts. I was painting cliffs on the far side of the pond, but as the afternoon progressed, the tree I was standing under started casting a shadow on the water in front of me. Holy Smokes! I stopped painting the cliff and quickly switched to a new painting of the shadows on the pond. Sometimes you just need to be at the right place at the right time. Inspiration usually comes while you are working. Also, the Fayetteville Art Walk was last weekend, and while sales were disappointing, I did get an Honorable Mention and prize money for my work. The silver lining was a wonderful weekend in the country with my good friend Kathy in great weather!