I paint from life inside and outside the studio. Painting outside, of course, requires immediate decisions and responses because light/ shadows/ atmosphere change so quickly. Inside, I set up the same conditions by responding to the effect of window light on still life or figure.

Natural light and time can create a compelling, though fleeting, composition and can provide a more stimulating range in values and colors. The urgency in capturing the effect of real time forces priorities and exposes the artist's plan. The immediacy more obviously reflects decisions in the construction of the painting.

The conclusion is spontaneity through panic.

Using plein aire paintings as studies with notes and photos from life to construct larger paintings in the studio is an approach less frenzied, and can be challenging and rewarding. Work done directly from life, however, is indispensable to me in my effort to build memory/ knowledge of the visually intriguing, helping the results-inside or out, large or small.