Looking for Rain and Plein Air War Stories

about 12 x16
They have closed one lane (the one closest to the edge/east side) of Chain Bridge for construction.....they might as well sent me an fancy invitation. Yipee! I arrived early so it was just me and the morning traffic. Talk about being on display...yipes! Well one unexpected guest all of a sudden appeared. Who, you ask? A snapping turtle! The construction crew hadn't appeared yet and the turtle was heading straight for me. (Ever see the neck on one of those prehistoric beasts?) Needless to say it was hard to concentrate and I was worried that the turtle would head out into traffic or take a chomp out of me. So I took one of those big orange and white plastic barrels that they use to stop traffic and tricked the turtle into going inside. Once he was inside...voilah! I scooped him up and transported him to a safe place under the bridge.
Now, I could finally concentrate. Back to trying to paly my "A game"..I had an audience after all!

Light through the Chute

6x6 pastel and watercolor on Uart paper
Today I decided I would purposefully play my "a game." This means I would stick with my small painting no matter what until all the issues I could see were completed to satisfaction. I chose a hard view, one that would be confusing. Keeping a consistent readable light was my goal. Hmmm...back to the studio.

Morning Near Riverbend

about 8x10 pastel and watercolor on Uart paper
Before I say anything else I want to thank all my subscribers, followers, commentors and browsers for taking the time to check in on my art. It means a lot to me. Daily we artists create in a vacuum of sorts. Just to know someone likes to look is a comfort. THANKS!
Next, a couple of days ago Brian E. had asked me a question like,"do I feel more inspired after a competition?" I said I would get back to him. Well, after thinking, I know the answer.It goes like this...... Last night I watched the Red Sox/Yankees game. I have been an avid Sox fan since childhood and one thing I know about these particular games is, because of the long held rivalry between the teams, the game is intense and both teams play their" A game." Well, it's just like painting. When it's a competition I paint my "A game." What that means is I pay attention to each component (value, color, edge, composition, temperature, mood, etc.) that I know I should, just like I do in a studio piece. I realized that en plein air I can sometimes not "finish" a painting to its best possible end. I will reason with myself..."well, it's just one of my vitamins (one a day.)" What an awful confession! I guess the moral to the story is I need to be on my "A game" as much as possible.