Saturday, we went out to Lakeside for the monthly paintout with the San Diego Watercolor Society. Shuang Li gave a terrific demo, and then we all painted.

It was such a beautiful day, full of irresistible subjects, clouds, boulders, fresh green meadows, fences, horses, vistas, and farm equipment. I decided to focus on the boulders and got to work. Soon, though, my sketch was bursting with all the loveliness of the spring morning, and I ended up with a cluttered mess.

Today I tried again. No beautiful fence that zig zags across the meadow, no majestic clouds, no terraced fields, but a much more pleasing painting.