My travels recently have taken me to scenery near water, be it oceanside or mountain lake. Working plein air with watercolor, the excitement of the moment can sometimes be captured with a surface freshness that is compelling. When I take this experience, with some photographs, back to the studio to start an oil painting, a different process evolves. What was once a momentary image spreads out to several months of shifting views. This slower process challenges me as I observe the intricacies sunlight can produce on water or land. Memories of the original experience slowly unfold.
I discovered in nature the nonutilitarian delights that I sought in art. Both were a form of magic, both were a game of intricate enchantment and deception.
--Vladimir Nabokov, Speak, Memory
Scenery seems to wear in one's consciousness better than any other element in life.... I have often been surprised to find what a predominant part in my own spiritual existence it has played....
-- William James
Seventh-century Chinese Chan Buddhist master Hongren advised: Work, work!... Work! Don't waste a moment... Calm yourself, quiet yourself, master your senses. Work, work! Just dress in old clothes, eat simple food...Work, work...Work!
