“Do not travel far when looking for a wife,” is an old Chinese proverb. I don’t know if this is true or not having been married only once. Apparently, I either traveled too far or not far enough. But I can say this is true when looking for a subject to paint. One can travel all day looking for the “perfect” scene and not have any art to show for it. When John Singer Sargent would go off with a group of his artist friends to paint from life somewhere his friends were impressed how few steps he would take to find a subject. He wanted to spend his time painting not traveling. This has been an issue with me as I love to travel… to know what is around the corner or over the hill. But to draw and paint one must stop moving. A short drive or walk from my cobblestone provides ample subject matter for me. Yesterday I parked on a back road close by and drew a picture of a old barn. I worked directly in ink on watercolor paper. I spent this morning painting over the drawing in watercolor.   6″ x 10″