It Doesn't Get Any Better

I'm back on Campobello Island now, teaching my weekly workshop. We've had gorgeous weather this week. It's perfect late summer weather - cool, dry air with a little breeze to stir away the few remaining mosquitoes, and intense sun. For painters, it really doesn't get any better - and hence the title of this little painting.

Painters painting other painters painting has been done before, but the strong light on the umbrella caught my attention. Against the dark greens of the spruces, it was just incandescent. Mid-way through the painting, Sheena, the student pictured, decided to change from her black smock to a white one. (As we outdoor painters know, the umbrella is to shade the canvas and palette and not necessarily the painter, and that black smock must have been getting hot!) I chose to stick with the original motif, just as I would if the clouds suddenly rolled in or the tide suddenly went out.

"It Doesn't Get Any Better"
5x7, oil, en plein air
SOLD