Starting here, what do you want to remember?
How sunlight creeps along a shining floor?
What scent of old wood hovers, what softened
sound from outside fills the air?

Will you ever bring a better gift for the world
than the breathing respect that you carry
wherever you go right now? Are you waiting
for time to show you some better thoughts?

When you turn around, starting here, lift this 
new glimpse that you found; carry into evening
all that you want from this day. This interval you spent
reading or hearing this, keep it for life –

What can anyone give you greater than now,
starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?

By: William Stafford

This has always been a favorite poem, by our beloved Oregon poet, William Stafford.  I had it on my refrigerator door most of the child rearing years because I wanted my kids to 'get the message'.  And, for me, this poem says it all, about our time, our moment to moment lives, and how special each and every day can be.  

Now, after focussing on painting and particularly plein air painting for sometime, I realize that this mantra/poem I have carried around in my head all these years, is really the perfect expression of what it means to paint en plein air. 

When some thing grabs your eye, makes you say "wow",  takes your breath away, or just intrigues you.....That is when you stop, sketch, set up and paint.   As I settle into the process, I run a conversation with the future viewer of my painting in my head like this:

"I'm gonna tell you a story about this place and time, but I am not going to tell you the whole story.  I am suggesting what I am seeing and experiencing., outside in the moment of the weather, the day, the place.   You, at some future point in time, standing looking at the painting now in a frame on a wall, will finish the story, make it your own story.   See whatever you see... it may remind you of another place you have been, or the colors awaken some feelings from your past, or best yet, the painting just 'takes you there, and you want to be there', wandering around in the 4 sided space of the picture."

All pretty magical stuff, I'd say.  Earlier, I thought the process was all about me making a 'finished painting' of some quality.  After I shared and sold some work, I have come to realize the much greater, powerful part of the experience:  to let others enjoy and live with the paintings too, in whatever way the moment offers.  I am humbled by this connection to others through my art, and thank you for your interest in the process. 

Thanks for reading, and thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Mary