I paint nearly every day, that does not mean I am producing finished landscapes every day. As an artist I recognize that my understanding and relationship to my environment is constantly changing and I am using the visual language of painting to try and gain a little more understanding of that. I have seen too many artists who venture outside to paint, come away with postcard sized 'finished' scenes as if they are mimicking a camera. I think too that the expectation of the viewer when they come across a plein air painter to see a finished scene puts us in that defensive mode (fear of looking bad) and we feel pressured to produce the perfect plein air scene. Making small studies on location is the most valuable exercise you can do. This is one of my favorite quotes:
-on selling his sketches...
I don't mind parting with the corn, but not with the field in which it was raised. (John Constable)
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