why paint?

                                        

Bridge and lily pads on the Charles River in Watertown, MA. Oil on masonite  8x10 inches

This is the second painting I did with the Meet-up group. It was a lovely day by the Charles river in Watertown and most of us were inspired to paint the bridge.  For me it allowed me to study and paint the water, which can be difficult at times.  My goal that day was to follow the process of first sketching the subject, then blocking in with a thin color wash, then finishing with thicker paint.  I think it's mostly successful as a representational piece but next time I'll do the 25 stroke challenge to lessen the fussiness and capture "why paint?"

It's akin to writing fiction: based on memories that are gathered by all of our senses and then expressed in a way that we convey a certain message to others, or just for ourselves.  Or our dogs..