Every once in a (long) while -

"Pause for Thought"
digital collage by Mick Mather

Even though I haven't spent much of my artistic life as a painter, I have studied paintings studiously along with other painters whose work inspires me. I remember spending an entire winter with a book containing the collected works of Andrew Wyeth, for example. Squinting my eyes for signs of underpainting, following the individual brush strokes and standing back to admire the full composition of a piece. Not quite the full glory of standing before the real thing mind you - struck dumb and drooling down the front of my shirt, but, I digress. Tonight's image was one of those pieces that worked totally as a painting for me. Not at the first go 'round, no...but after setting it aside and coming back days later with a renewed desire to fiddle about? It fell right in line. Sigh! It sure feels good sometimes.