Another gorgeous day in northern Michigan! Sunny and about 40 degrees. Back at Antrim Creek Natural Area today. As soon as I saw this spot with the melting snow I fell in love with it. Spots! Leopard! Polka-dots! Be still, my heart! I HAD to paint this!
In the beginning it looked pitiful — absolutely ridiculous! Like I’d had a few too many beers or something. Ah, but patience is a virtue. Lots of paintings look nasty at the start. They’re experiments. Sometimes they turn out marvelous. A secret: the viewing public doesn’t know how we artists are sometimes freaked-out, worried while painting! One of my painting buddies and I talked about this the other day. He surprised me by admitting he, too, is sometimes scared when starting a painting. There are no guarantees.
Painting out in the “real world”, there’s always the chance a curious hiker will stroll by for a look right when everything is at its most pathetic stage. Painters — doesn’t it usually happen that way?
That’s a glimpse of Grand Traverse Bay and the Leelanaw Peninsula in the distance. Not shown: a rotting seagull in the snow behind me….
Margie Guyot Art 