christopher strunk

the first and hardest part of painting is to begin. i deliberately
wander around snapping shots of woods and fields, streams, light
and shadows. often it seems i am taking pictures of nothing at all.
a hike is a good study, it is easy for me to snap a couple of hundred
pictures on a hike. i find it hard to paint more than one canvas at
a time. i let the work nag me. i will often turn a canvas to the wall
for long periods of time. i resist painting until i can barely stand it
and then i will paint on it routinely peering from an almost cross-eyed
distance to the surface. this process goes on until i am satisfied that
the painting is finished. i often crop paintings to finish them. it is very
difficult to direct a canvas. the canvas invariably settles itself if i
stay out of the way.

two track 29 x 34

sunrise 30 x 33

kalamazoo nature center stream 3 x 37