Yesterday I painted at Pioneer Park in San Diego, along with the Thursday painters. The park was full of people. We were all enjoying a perfect January morning in San Diego, green because of our recent rains, bright because our blue sky was back, and joyful because we were outdoors.

I picked out a view and was standing at my easel thinking about how to paint it, when I noticed two women visiting each other in a patch of sunlight somewhere in the middle of my scene. Although I normally start with the big shapes of a painting and then add details, I immediately knew that I should make the painting about these two. I quickly sketched them into the painting and later placed the lawns, shadows, and trees around them.