These houses, which are only a few blocks from my studio, were painted last week. I painted them about two years ago for my daughter. That version was larger, 30 x 40 inches. I find it useful to revisit my favorite places. First of all I know where to park. That may sound stupid but when all these skinny streets are packed with snow, the last thing you want to do is move someone's "Pittsburgh chair". So yes parking is an issue, but so is knowing which direction the sun is moving. You only have so much time before the entire light and shadow distribution changes. It is a race against time. There is also comfort painting the same scene because you learned something that can be applied again, hopefully to your advantage. The paintings never look alike. I think of them as journal entries. They record that particular day. One painter friend refers to his daily paintings as tracks in the snow. That makes sense. We learn from our own work – one painting at a time.
