In the Zone in South Natick

South Natick waterfall 16x20

Sometimes people ask, "How can you paint with all those people watching you?" After 36 years in front of a classroom filled with students and parents watching me demonstrate and having to use both the left brain and right brain simultaneously (which is very difficult to do), being watched stopped being an issue for me. Now, the luxurious feeling of "just painting" is wonderful. A friend says she wears earphones-even if she isn't listening to anything-so she can stay focused on what she is doing. She said another trick is to just put a hat out there with some money in it and then people tend to leave her alone. At best, she makes a couple bucks extra. I was mesmerized by the three types of water at this site. The sun was strong. The upper water was calm and reflective with duckweed and leaves floating on top, the waterfall was roaring and powerful with water splashing upward at it's base and the area below displayed patterns and a rhythm in the strong current. For me, I get in the "zone". I literally am not even aware of people staring or taking photos. When I did this painting in South Natick, MA, I may have been too in the zone; I got home  to Walpole and realized I had left my pocketbook back on the park bench in Natick. The young girl that found it returned it to me via the police station. I let the painting dry, framed it and dropped it by her house several weeks later as a thank you. She was absolutely stunned that I had tracked her down and equally thrilled with her "thank you". I was grateful my bag was found by such a nice honest young woman.