Periodically I draw and paint landscape from observation, then beat a hasty retreat as the outdoors belittles my efforts once more. Landscape demands good decision making. What is deceptive about great landscape paintings is how obvious they appear to be. It is a different experience outside. Some of the pitfalls include miles of view abundant with detail, and a long history of success by others with talent and training at their disposal. People who do it are well aware of the discomforts and difficulties: frigid or tropical temperatures, lugging tools and materials into the wilds, constantly changing light, among other obstacles. Last month a change of location provided an opportunity to try again. Here are the first day’s pages of my sketchbook from Cody, Wyoming.
ABOVE: Cody, pigma micron .25 mm on Daler Rowney Cachet spiral sketchbook, 5″x7″ (12.7 x 17.17cm), December 20, 2007