Painting with bugs

I finally made time to get outside and do some paintings. I was looking to capture the rolling golden hills of summertime in Sonoma county, and I managed to do three paintings over the course of the day. I was glad I had my umbrella with me, because the sun was hot and I was happy for the little puddle of shade it provided.

The painting above is titled "Subtle Path" because what drew me to the scene was the subtle change in color in the shadow of the tree where this little deer path wound through the dry grass. I'm not sure the painting captured that aspect, but I'm pretty happy with the distant hills. I kept changing the shadow as the light shifted, which is usually a bad idea. I blame the insect invasion for messing with my concentration. While I was painting this I was swarmed by some sort of bug like a weevil (OK, so I never took entomology, to my eternal regret). They didn't bite, but I spent the afternoon picking them out of the piles of paint on my palete and trying to keep them from dropping down my shirt. Nothing like painting outside to practice one's focus.