California Wildflowers

Sunday, I went out painting plein air to a park in Oakland. It was really a gray, foggy day when I started painting, but the sun came out as I finished-up. This was a little area of native wildflowers, which included the bright orange California poppies. There were some little yellow and white flowers that a former Easterner, I don't think I've seen before.

I have some conflict about posting my plein air paintings because I feel that they are just studies, and not as good as my studio works. But they are more spontaneous. When I am outdoors painting in the landscape, I am in the subject, I am part of it, so to speak, so it is a whole different experience than studio painting. In many ways, it is a different art form than studio painting. So, maybe they shouldn't be judged by the same standard.

Okay, I do have a tendency to think about stuff too much! Nonetheless, I am looking forward to my next plein air experience. That's the thing, even if the plein air paintings aren't as good from a technical point of view, they are a record of experience.

Thanks for reading these thoughts. Now you go out and paint! And try not to think about it too much!