Wherever I go, I try to spend some time painting on location.
For me, plein air painting has long been a kind of mindfulness practice, a way of slowing down, paying attention to where I am, truly being where I am.
In Italy, as soon as the espresso is on the table my sketchbook is out and I am drawing the scene around me – not as a field study to make a painting from later, but to allow myself to fully inhabit the moment. Those sketchbooks – I’ve amassed quite a few over the years – evoke so much feeling and memory when I revisit them.
Painting in New York City one summer several years ago, I found myself engaging with all kinds of New Yorkers intrigued by seeing an artist painting their city. Invariably they were curious, warm, friendly, even inviting me into their apartment if I needed a bathroom break or a glass of water. I’ve noticed that when I give myself more time to settle into the place I am visiting, the city seems to give more of itself to me too.
