A big part of the pleasure of plain air painting is that you get to look at something beautiful for a long time, much longer than you would otherwise. If the painting works out, it’s a bonus. I seem to be developing the habit of doing multiple versions #watercolor #pleinair
Things I’ve learned today: use nonstaining pigments for under-painting, wait until it’s totally dry before doing straight lines, swatch value not just color, and I gotta learn some technique to give the impression of buildings on hills.
Thing I learned again that I keep learning: big fussy painting with tons of details that take a lot of time are rarely as good as quick, gestural painting executed spontaneously. BUT I have to do the fussy one first and then the breezy one second to somehow get the shapes out.


