>> FOR ME, IT MEANS TAKING MY EQUIPMENT OUTSIDE AND OBSERVING LIGHT FALLING ON FORM.
FIRST OF ALL, YOU GOT TO LEARN YOUR GEAR AND THEN YOU GOT TO KEEP IT PACKED UP AND READY TO GO.
AND WHEN THE MOOD STRIKES, OR EVEN IF THE MOOD DOESN'T STRIKE, GET IN YOUR CAR AND GO OR WALK OUT IN YOUR BACKYARD AND GET IT ALL OUT AND YOU OBSERVE THE LIGHT THAT'S FALLING ON FORM IS WHAT IT IS FOR ME.
THAT'S WHY I DO IT.
I'M PRIMARY AN OIL PAINTER SINCE I WAS 11 YEARS OLD, BUT I LOVE DRAWING, SO ALL TYPES OF DRAWINGS.
I LOVE WORKING FROM THE FIGURE.
I WOULD LIKE WORKING PRIMARILY FROM LIFE.
I HATE PAINTING FROM PHOTOS, BUT I DO DO IT.
IT'S A NECESSITY AT TIMES.
AND I HAVE MY SKETCH BOOK WITH ME ALL THE TIME.
I HAVE WATER COLORS IN MY PURSE.
WHEN I HAVE A CHANCE THERE OUT AND I'M DRAWING PEOPLE IN BARS OR IN RESTAURANTS.
WHEN I WAS YOUNG, THERE'S A GUY ON TV.
HE WAS A CHARCOAL ARTIST.
ON SATURDAY MORNINGS, YOU COULD WATCH HIM CREATE A DRAWING.
AND I SAVED UP MY ALLOWANCE AND BOUGHT HIS CHARCOAL SET, AND I STARTED TO DRAW ON CHARCOAL.
WHEN I GOT TO BE 11, I ASKED SANTA CLAUS FOR OIL PAINTS, AND THEY CAME.
I HAVE SOME FRIENDS THAT LIKE TO TRAVEL, SO WE GET TOGETHER AND WE'LL GO TO FRANCE OR ENGLAND OR OTHER PLACES AND PAINT.
MY LOCAL LANDSCAPE HAS CHANGED SO MUCH THAT I HAVE TO GO FURTHER AND FURTHER TO FIND THINGS, BUT I DO LIKE TRYING TO CAPTURE OLD BARNS AND THINGS THAT ARE DISAPPEARING.
THEY'RE RAPIDLY DISAPPEARING IN MY AREA.
THEY SAID IT'S AMERICA'S CATHEDRAL, AND I BELIEVE THAT'S RIGHT.
THIS IS A SERIES OF STUFF BASED ON THE CLIFF OF IRELAND.
I PAINTED THERE THREE TIMES, AND THESE TWO WORKS WERE CREATED AT THE CLIFFS OF MOORE THIS SUMMER.
I DID THIS 8 BY 10 PLAIN AIR SKETCH AT 8:00 IN THE MORNING.
THEN I WENT TO PUT MY EQUIPMENT AWAY, AND I TURNED AROUND AND SAW THAT, AND I SAID, I'M GOING TO TRY THAT.
SO I TRIED THAT, AND I WASN'T THAT HAPPY WITH IT.
BUT INSTEAD, I LOOKED BACK AFTER DOING THAT, I LOOKED BACK AT THAT AND SAW A TOTALLY DIFFERENT QUALITY OF LIGHT FALLING ON THE CLIFF.
SO I'M AN AVID SKETCH BOOK PERSON, SO THERE'S THE SKETCH BOOK, THAT LITTLE PAINTING.
AND THIS IS THE SECOND SKETCH I DID AT 10:00 A.M., SO I PAINTED THAT FOR ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF STARTING AT 8:00.
AND HERE'S A DIFFERENT SKETCH WITH A DIFFERENT LIGHT AND SKY CONDITION.
WE PROBABLY WENT AWAY AND HAD COFFEE.
THEN I SAID I WANT TO SEE THEM ONE MORE TIME BEFORE I LEAVE.
SO I CAME BACK, AND THE LIGHT HAD DRAMATICALLY CHANGED.
I STARTED THIS SKETCH AT 1:45 IN THE AFTERNOON, AND NOW THE SUN -- IT'S FACING WEST -- SO THE SUN WAS NOW ON THE OTHER SIDE AND THREW EVERYTHING INTO DARKNESS.
SO I STARTED DRAWING THIS AT 1:45, AND I ENDED AT 2:10.
I WAS MAKING NOTES -- I MADE FIELD NOTES HERE.
AND LAST NIGHT, I PRINTED OUT A PHOTOGRAPH OF THAT SAME QUALITY OF LIGHT.
THE VALUES ARE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS THE DRAWING, BUT THE COLOR IS NOWHERE REPRESENTATIVE OF WHAT I WROTE DOWN FROM MY COLORS.
SO THIS MORNING, I THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST GOING TO PULL OUT MY LITTLE WATER COLORS THERE AND SEE IF I CAN PUT DOWN SOME COLOR THAT I MARKED AND SEE IF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE AS A PAINTING BEFORE I WOULD EVER MAYBE TRY TO DO THAT IN OIL, ESPECIALLY ON A BIG PAINTING.
WHEN I WORK, I JUST FEEL BETTER INSIDE.
THERE MUST BE SOMETHING IN HERE THAT'S TRYING TO COME OUT THAT I CAN EXPRESS.
DOESN'T MEAN I'M CALM WHEN I'M DOING IT.
YOU KNOW.
BUT IT'S MAKING THE JOURNEY FROM JUST GETTING OUT THERE AND THEN DECIDING WHAT TO PAINT.