View from Seaside Cemetery

View from Seaside Cemetery, 5x7", oil on panel.

Well, today I needed a change of pace, so instead of staying in my nice warm studio, I went out and froze my fingers to the marrow in the north wind off the Atlantic Ocean to get this little landscape. I'm pleased with the sky, but the land needs some serious work in my opinion. There are some pleasant things about the rocks in the foreground and I like the sea spray effects I managed to get, but there's a lack of focal point that makes it suffer a bit. I think I'll continue to do these landscapes this week and see if I can't get something more interesting by Friday.

Also, an interesting aside. As I was walking home, a nice lady from the town asked if she could see the painting. I said sure, and set down my easel so she could take a look at it. "Oh, it reminds me of California! I know where that is, I have that exact painting on my living room wall!" I really didn't have anything to say to that, but she finished up with, "But it's not like California today, is it?" And no, it most certainly is not. So I agreed with her and shuffled off. Any ideas on how to respond to the normally inane blather you have to deal with when people stop you when they notice that you're a -gasp- Painter?