Dear Artist Friends,
I spent two sessions over two days on this plein air painting, totaling about five hours. On the first day, I focused on drawing the building—a relatively complicated structure—making sure the perspective was correct. On the second day, I worked on the color and design of the piece.
When you're deeply concentrated on painting, time seems to fly by. The sun moves so quickly, and the light and shadow shift just as fast. During this year's Wayne Plein Air event, I even became aware of a tree growing next to me. I had set up my easel in Valley Forge National Park, positioning myself beside a tree for shade. One of its branches was quite close to my panel. I painted there for about three to four hours. At the start, the tip of the branch was roughly two feet away from my panel. But when I finished, I was surprised to find that the tip had actually grown past my panel.
What an astonishing discovery. When we truly observe the world around us, we realize it is completely different from what we once took for granted.
Best regards,
Qiang
