My attempts to paint en plein air on vacation apparently were contagious. One day Elizabeth and William both asked for some paper, brushes and paints and each spent a quiet and satisfying time creating a painting, although neither from their immediate surroundings. (Elizabeth’s was an imaginary camping scene based on our previous stops. We had just a couple of days earlier visited a museum in Bennington, VT, where they had a display of works by Grandma Moses (painted at ages 60-99!) and I think Elizabeth was thinking of those images.  William’s was an abstract).

I’ve given both of them quite a bit of art instruction in the past, so they had a good idea where to start and how to proceed. Maybe it was the quietness of the campsite and my painting that pulled them; maybe the lack of other distractions and activities? I was also satisfied to see them create with paint.