"Couples"

8 x 10 (plein air)

Painted at Lake Ella which is small park in downtown Tallahassee. There is a loop around the lake that is slightly more than a half mile. Almost any time of day there are tons of walkers exercising or cruising around the lake. I like to paint there. It's always challenging and there are lots of friendly onlookers. Perhaps the biggest issue in plein air painting is editing. When you paint outdoors you have to simplify. Everything is right in front of you. The whole wide panorama. What do paint and what do you leave out. Here, in reality, there are multiple bushes, walkers, ducks, and trees. In the background there is a four lane road, cars, a restaurant, and a helicopter. (Yes, no kidding -- a helicopter). So you change things around and keep the central idea of a path around a lake with a couple walking. As I was finishing this a white duck swam up and I added the ducks as a balance for the composition. KISS. Keep is simple stupid. I like it.

Thanks for looking.