Scouting

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

We just returned from a quick painting trip to the Santa Fe area—a few hectic days of scouting and painting while dodging the intense afternoon monsoon storms. For anyone who loves painting dramatic clouds, those afternoons are full of wonderful picture opportunities. We focused on trying to get something done in the dry morning hours, which required that we scout potential sites for the next day in the rainy afternoons. This presents the problem of trying to imagine how the clear morning light will appear the next day while standing in the rain the day before! Part of the fun is in the exploring. The country around Santa Fe has many little dirt roads which zig-zag around arroyos and mountains. With some determination, a suitable location can usually be found before too long.

Exploration is a skill that the traveling painter must develop through practice. There are several things we always try to keep in mind:

Vigilance. It can pay to go beyond the initial “pretty” views. We look f…