To Paint or not to Paint

I went out this morning to paint but I was in a neutral mood, like do I really want to paint this morning. I love being out at sunrise whether I'm painting or not, when the early morning sunlight has that orange glow to it.

I went to the park looking around for a spot with good lighting but the clouds were moving in thicker and the sun was having trouble getting thru. I couldn't find anything interesting to paint (which happens when I am in a neutral mood) so I figured I would take one more look around and finally settled on this spot with the red cedar tree which I have painted in the past.

I used a 5x7 panel and simplified the scene omitting the group of trees on the right and excluding the big section of dull grey sky.

This is the completed painting from a morning of indecision.

To protect the wet painting I use a 5x7 piece of masonite and four wood plugs that I position on each corner of the painting. Tape the four corners together and you are ready to go.