En Plein Air: Country Road (oil, 12 x 16)

You may have guessed that it was Tuchahoe Road. Indeed, I went there again. Today, I drove all the way to the road end. On my way there, I ran into the black cowboy Burddie again. This time I did notice there was a pair of Texas long horns fixed on the nose of his truck. He stopped his vehicle on the roadside. When we both stopped side by side next to a large fenced-in horse farm, we both winded down our windows. I asked him who the owner was of the horse farm and if I could go there to paint. Burddie said he didn't know whom it belonged to, but told me there should not be any problem for me to paint there so long as they knew I was  a friend of "black redneck Burddie." I expressed my thanks and believed he must be pretty well-known in this area.

When I was setting up at road end, a couple living on the roadside farm came out to see me. They are very nice and friendly. their names are Dennis and Rocky. Both retied. Dennis was a retired police officer. When I was done with the painting, they invited me to their farm. They had built a bridge over the creek. Dennis showed around his farm. We didn't go deep down into the woods. Dennis told me that next to his property was an orange grove on Highway 80. He told me he would tell its owner about me so that I could not only paint on his farm, but also go into the orange grove to paint. I was really lucky to have met with such a friendly couple and have the opportunity to further explore the beauty of that area.

As you may notice, I made the mailboxes the center of interest in the painting. I tried to express the shimmering effect of light by softening the color with a fan brush. when I was completed, I felt I overdid it a little. Just an experiment.