I find August to be the most stressful month of the year. This is due in a large part to living in the Southeastern US where the heat and humidity of the hottest month can make being outdoors quite uncomfortable. Drought has also become a common occurrence. As an avid gardener, this means I have to be outside a lot - watering plants and keeping clean water available for wildlife, in addition to the usual maintenance chores… all while trying not to get eaten alive by mosquitoes. Keeping up with it while sweating buckets, with days and days of no relief is draining! The stress is also felt by the plants and wildlife, who can both be seen wilting under the sun. For me, inspiration found outside of the studio gets pretty thin in August and therefore, whatever is happening inside the studio must be enough to feed itself. Currently I have 2 large paintings underway in which I am challenging myself to abandon my reference photographs (as often as possible) and rely more on my own imagination and memory. I look forward to sharing the results with you when the paintings are completed. Until then, here is a detail shot, snapped with my phone on the fly. Work In Progress.