After the Rain

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Glorious Kansas light at its best! This kind of
light doesn't really last long enough to finish
even a small painting. Over the years I've
had to learn how to develop a "visual memory"
for details that do not persist very long, so
that I can add them later as I am working
the picture to a finish. I learned a lot about
how to do this while painting the tidal marshes
along the Hudson River in New York State when
we lived there in the 80's. Because the river
is a tidal estuary, or 'arm of the sea', the tide
would often either fill or drain the reflections
out of the scene while I was still working on it!
So intense was my concentration on the entire
panoramic scene that I didn't really notice the
slow shrinking and disappearance of my
beautiful reflections until they were pretty
much gone. Too late! Next time, I was ready
to get them noted down in my sketchbook first.
Live, paint, and learn.