There were times long ago when I was very irritated with people who came by to watch me paint. I was self conscious enough painting on location without the fear that people were judging the early stages of my painting. Little kids could be especially distracting. They seem to like to point at things in the painting, often touching the wet paper. Here are some of my favorite stories of tourist comments.
Once I was painting the local self-proclaimed Hot Dog King Brud Pierce. I was nearly finished with the painting, including the sign on his motorized stand that said "Brud's Hot Dogs." A woman came along and asked me what I was painting. "Brud! See the sign? See Brud's big ears?" She paused a second, looked across the street and said, "Harbor Realty?" Sigh....
More than once I have been asked "What are you painting?"
"Are you an artist?" is another favorite. My answer is usually "That's for you to say."
Then there's the Sneak. They don't want to disturb the artist, so they silently approach my easel. Suddenly, usually when I'm making a crucial line, they'll exclaim their admiration. Or sometimes I'll be backing up to judge the pattern in the painting and bump into them or trip over their dog. Painting can be dangerous!
But yesterday's comment may just take the prize. I was putting the finishing touches on this painting out at Ocean Point in East Boothbay of rocks and surf when a woman came by and talked and talked and talked, mostly about herself. Finally, she asked, "I'm looking for a place called East Side Point that has a lot of rocks and you can see the ocean. Do you know were it is?" I literally rolled my eyes and said, "You're looking at it!"
All that said, most onlookers are kind in their comments and ask if they can watch. Sometimes I like them so much that I hand them my brush so they can pose in front of the painting while their relative takes their photo. This week I was even invited to have dinner with a nice couple from Houston.
Have fun painting en plein air!
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