I took my long-suffering wife, Donna, with me on an afternoon painting trip last week. She had on her smart high heels as she thought we were heading for a town where I would paint from an outdoor cafe, but on the way I saw this bodega which I thought made a great subject. So we stopped the car and scrambled over some wasteland and up a small hill to get the best vantage point. Donna found a rock to sit on (she had on a posh frock as well), and I set up to do a watercolour.
Up went the easel, and at the same time up came the wind. It started as a gentle breeze, then within minutes had turned into a not so gentle breeze. The easel blew over, the fixing broke so the backing board wobbled loosely, and as the wind grew ever stronger I found myself painting with one hand on the easel to steady it and the other on a brush. The easel wouldn't stand at its full height so I had to lower it, which meant bending over to paint at a back stretching angle. And added to that, it was a warm day and the paint was drying very quickly on the paper and in the palette. Still, I was determined to make something of the scene, so while Donna clung to the rocks I carried on to the bitter - and gale force - end.
Sometimes it's not easy. But it's still great fun! And we did end up at a nice outdoor cafe as a reward!
