June 9th, 2012
Cox Reservation, Essex MA
Oil on Wood, 18 x 24 in
(sold)

It was a hot and bright day when I painted this, and so much staring at the sky and land had really made it hard to see. I felt this was a disaster and I was really struggling, feeling about 3 more hours from its disappointing completion, when David Curtis arrived to give me his critique. To my shock and disbelief, he had only good things to say about this, even as it stood, and advised me to stop working on it; it was done, and among my best yet. I doubted his judgment – he’d been out in the sun all day too, afterall, maybe it had momentarily addled his brain? But as for the suggestion that I stop, I was all for it. I did. The painting is growing on me, like a beneficent fungus.