Tree Study o/c 14x11

I painted this in a favorite spot I thought I had pretty much mined. Instead of trying to paint all the marshes and the river and the sky as I usually do, I decided to focus on this clump of trees and call it a study. Somehow, calling a painting a "study" freed me from thinking I had to produce a masterpiece and I began to find interesting details to consider in a tiny piece of what can be an overwhelming landscape. That last line stirs the urge to preach, so I'll stop, but there's a sermon in there somewhere.

I have been gluing linen on gatorboard panels in anticipation of painting on vacation. For the last twelve years I have been doing services at a little beach church for a few weeks in July. I hope to do a painting a day this year, and I will have more to say about that here in a couple of weeks.

And my Darling daughter sent me a Father's Day package, which I thought about waiting until FD to open (fat chance) and it held, of all things, an anchor and a large plastic map case. In the card she challenged me to guess what the present had to do with some good activity at the

beach this summer. It took a minute, but when I figured out that my favorite small painting box would fit in the map case I began to see myself anchored in the marshes painting from the kayak. Thanks Margie! Can't wait.