A Sprinkling of Wildflowers

Over the years I have learned to listen to what my muse is telling me. I had stopped in this area specifically because I wanted to paint the river. I was in a river kind of mood. But as I walked around looking for where I should set up to paint, I kept coming back to this view with the foreground meadow of wildflowers and sage with the prominent juniper tree. It was so beautiful and kept begging to be painting. From this vantage the river was barely visible, but by transplanting a few things, I was able to include just a glimpse of the river. No, I didn't do it in defiance of my muse. But rather, it was necessary to help to capture the essence of the place and give an anchor on that edge of the painting to prevent the eye from simply following the slope of the hill completely off the canvas. So, yes, I got my river painting, but the painting is completely about the meadow of wildflowers and the back-lit juniper.