Easel on Down the Road - painting in South Carolina

Painting today was glorious! I had the luxury of waking up in the area where I would paint and of knowing I did not have to jump in the car and drive to a new destination when I was done. I walked some trails before breakfast and found an open space among pines next to Lake Thurmond. The ground was soft and the earth that dipped into the water was a rich red. A cool breeze balanced a steady sun and a deep calm settled over me.

I approached my work slowly, breathing in the pine needle twang and crawling the edge of each shape with my eyes. I heard wind approaching through the trees and looked up to see it press on the water in the distance, making a stripe of darker blue. I held onto the canvas and, when the wind did not dissipate, decided to put the painting on the ground and stretch myself out in the sun until it died down. This was an easy problem to solve!

I tried several more times to mount the painting back onto the easel, mixing colors and cleaning brushes before doing so. This worked for awhile but eventually the wind won. I put the painting on the ground and sat cross-legged to finish, feeling a bit like I was in kindergarten.

After cleaning up my supplies and myself, I drove out of the park and discovered a lovely restaurant within a local golf course. Everyone was remarkably friendly and exceedingly polite. What a day! Tomorrow I'm heading to Ashville, NC. I look forward to a scenic drive and to two nights in a cottage I found through "airbnb".