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Spring is an excellent time to paint outside... the rush and roar of the water drowns out all sounds and it is easier to get into the right head space and zone out.

I was standing on the edge of a waterfall. The sound of the cataract muffled everything else and I tried to get into the zone...

When painting en plein air, start with the things that are changing quickly or even moving out of the scene. In this case, the clouds were streaking away to the northeast with the warm conveyor belt.

The midday light tends to be plat - no shadows. Sometimes though the scene itself can be all that you need in whatever lighting. A friend of mine said "You have liberated the spirit of the scene. Grand work." That's why I paint...

Spring is a favourite time to paint en plein air. The wildlife are out and active. The sounds of spring carry long distances in the stable atmosphere. The drumming of roughed grouse does not have to compete with the drone of mosquitoes and other biting insects. Life is good.

Lawrence Nickle was a fine friend and an excellent artist. I have certainly missed those spring-time paint outs in the western sections of Algonquin Park and around Burk's Falls.

The weather is a constant source of inspiration... it is always changing. The precipitation, wind and clouds are all you really need to understand what the atmosphere is doing in three and even four dimensions - including time.
This is a Peterson Blue Bird house that I built... the blue birds have used it every year.

I like to paint with the snow on the ground. The threat of ticks and other biting insects is minimal. We never used to have ticks but now they are everywhere. The cat is a tick-magnet.

I enjoyed those clear and cold days of winter.. no biting insects or ticks. My ... how the weather has changed! The El Nino is certainly a factor but the integral of weather is climate and both have changed.

The composition is a bit unusual but I think that it worked... it was a beautiful April day in late winter 2015.