"George the Surveyor", 2013, 36 x 48", mixed media on canvas

George the Surveyor, 2013, 36" x 48", mixed media on canvas, Andrew Portwood copyright 2013
available  at  https://andrewportwoodstudio.com/home.html

George the Surveyor, Detail , 36" x 48", mixed media on canvas, Andrew Portwood copyright 2013

George the Surveyor, Detail , 36" x 48", mixed media on canvas, Andrew Portwood copyright 2013

More whimsy with this painting. I have been drawing inspiration from the local park area...which is kind of turning into a dog park. I like observing the owners repeatedly throwing tennis balls for the dogs to chase...you have never seen such elation from the dog's owners and the dog's themselves. If you had four legs to run with, you would be in a state of elation to speed across a wide open field ( off the leash!)
Of course, this picture shows horses instead of dogs, and I have put the characters in early American dress of 200 years ago...that's the whimsical part.

Impulsive watercolor: "My friends in the Park", 36" x 48", mixed media on canvas

My friends in the Park, 2013, 36" x 48", mixed media on canvas, Andrew Portwood copyright 2013

Available at  https://andrewportwoodstudio.com/home.html

I could take this painting to another stage of completion...but I'm going to leave it alone instead. I don't know about you...but my mood can change from day to day...I tend to live in the present and can be quite impulsive. Maybe that is a luxury of an artist. I went to the park , and just sat and listened and looked, and went back to the studio and just painted anything... and it developed into something tangible...which I thought I would use as a base for tomorrow's painting session. But the next morning I looked at it , and just left it alone. It had a life and energy from a passing moment. I like the freshness and spontaneity...just an impulsive watercolor. Maybe I'm regressing back into my own childhood...but the making of this picture was such a joyful and pleasurable experience...the way I felt in kindergarten...no pre-conceived notion or critical approach....Just Play. Sometimes you have to ask yourself why you started drawing and painting in the first place and reconnect with that.