I had my sights set on painting a large colorful rock at the edge of a running stream. On this late autumn day after running errands, I’d decided to stop and unload my art supplies for a challenging acrylic painting study. At first, I was tempted to paint a view of the stream and began to base paint in the landscape. But on taking another look at the large rock, I decided to move my easel to a new location. It was already after noontime with only a few hours of daylight left. This was risky in an attempt to complete a canvas painting, as the sun began to set lower in the sky, dipping below the wooded hillside in front of me. I’d needed at least an hour more to paint this composition, but as the temperature began to drop, my fingers became numb and I began to feel a bit dizzy from standing still by the cool running water and the loss of warmth from the sun.
