I’ve been drawing since I was a kid but didn’t really start painting until 1997. My professor at the time recommended painting outdoors, saying it was the best way to learn about color and light. I spent that summer painting landscapes around town and setting up still lifes to paint outside my home. This experience was instrumental in helping me to not only get a grip on color mixing, but also in developing a process for quickly composing an image. It was an exciting experience that has stuck with me to this day. I would often imagine painting landscapes alongside Van Gogh or Cezanne, thinking about how they would interpret the scenes I was attempting to paint.
We’ve been in quarantine now for over two months. Since I haven’t been going to my studio because of the stay at home orders, I decided to work on something at home to help keep the blues away. At the beginning of May I started this painting in my backyard. I heard someone say recently that painting the outdoors soothes the soul and I wholeheartedly agree.
