Do whatever you do intensely. - Robert Henri

Taking the left side of the fork in the road brought me to Milfiori - a wonderland of old barns, weathered shacks, rusted farming items and springtime flowers. Here is a small study in progress during a landscape painting workshop presented by Kathleen Dunphy of Murphy, CA. Gorgeous area, wonderful instructor and quixotic weather!

Returning from six days with over 900 artists in Tucson, I am proud to be a member of this band called Plein Air artists. Why do we all walk outside, with brush in hand, to paint? It is the neverending search for that perfect brushstroke at the perfect moment in the perfect place. Outside. In the world and part of the land. It is being one with the elements - the sun, the rain, the snow, the wind and whatever else the gods send our way for their amusement. It is the critters - the rattlesnakes, biting ants, all things creeping and crawling. It is forgetting a panel, a tube of paint, a favorite brush after hiking several miles and making do. It is the thrilling calm of being one with the universe and painting the indescribable! - S P West