August 2010

If you want to do some hard work, there is no better place to do so than on a farm. 

So it was fitting that when Jie agreed to spend some time with me landscape painting, he chose Fowler Farms from the list of places I suggested we paint.

I got up at 6 AM that Saturday morning, which for me is the equivalent of waking to the rooster crow. We got to the farm just after eight, saw John and Holly, and picked a few spots. Then, we set up our easels and painted to the loud sounds of cackling hens.

Jie works hard, as well as fast. He first just had me paint for a 

couple of hours as I normally do. In that time I was impressed at how he did two excellent pieces and still had time to come by and comment on my pro

gress. He then had me do a painting in 30 minutes and told me to just lay down color.

We ate lunch at Farm 255, which was awesome as usual. In keeping with the theme I had the farmer's breakfast which consisted of grits, homemade sausage, eggs and toast with fresh blueberry jam. It reminded me of the late breakfasts Aunt Wydene would fix after morning milking back on the dairy farm. Labor and hunger are the best sauces, and those were some of the best meals of my life.

After lunch, I sweated through two more thirty minute sketches. The time limit threw me out of my comfort zone. I had to focus harder on certain areas and throw other concerns completely out. It was a nice mix of confusion and comphrehension as I learned what this exercise does.

I learned a ton from Jie. He gave me a lot of great information and seeing him in action was great. It was also nice having a companion while out in the field, especially one that pushed me to work beyond my normal habits. I usually at most do two pieces in a day, and he showed me how to just 'go with it' and I created four. While not in my normal style, it opened my boundaries.

And as a fantastic bonus, John and Holly gave us each a dozen fresh eggs. Fresh from the hens we had been listening to all day! Aunt Wydene always said hard work pays off.