Afternoon in the Swamp

I drove for miles and miles this morning, looking for THE PERFECT SPOT to paint. But ugh! Nothing caught my eye. It was all so trite, so boring. Too blah. I came home and went back out into my swamp. Just give me a good-old swamp! Of course this view was rather difficult — all that detail! — but this year I’ve been obsessed with picking difficult subjects. Don’t ask me why.

Here’s how it looked after about 10 minutes. I think the first 10 minutes are the hardest. You need to figure out where things go. Gloss over this step and you’ll regret it later.

Today I had 2 little helpers with me — my beloved cats, Picasso and Bernie Sanders.

Just as I was beginning to fill in everything else, my friend Lucy surprised me with a visit. Some people hate interruptions, but I was glad for the steady chatter. It took my mind off what a horrible struggle this painting was! You know — that inner voice that’s so critical. We talked about her paper on red pandas, a cheap place to buy a flat of flowers, ticks, ash borer disease — and I just merrily slapped the paint on. The inner voice didn’t get a word in edge-wise. This painting almost painted itself.

Here’s my setup: