I keep my easel on top of the suitcases when I travel, but rarely pull it out to paint. But something is different this trip. Actually, something has shifted in my painting discipline this summer and fall. I am much more driven to paint as often as I can. The goal seems less about producing a "winning" painting or a saleable painting. I'm treating each painting session as practice, keeping my hand and eye active.
As a painter, I guess it is easy to assume that once you've made progress in your technique, and learned something about the design and execution of paintings that you will continue at that level even if you don't paint for long periods. I reject that notion. If you are not attentive to the craft you are practicing, you may start sliding into predictable habits that work. It's even possible that once you reach a plateau that brings "success" that you will stop experimenting and thinking about other approaches.
I am now convinced that painting is about the process not the product. I am enjoying putting brush to paper. Sales are nice, prizes are great, but the process is everything.
Here's a painting I did near the Manassas Battlefield so that my friend Russell could watch me paint.
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