Keeping it unreal

Relax, I told myself. Relax and let it be unreal if it needs to be that. Rather than wrestling the values and colors into submission and rules of proper landscape painting, I just let it be. Not out of laziness. Not out of ignorance. But, as an exercise to let go of the result and stay present with the process.

The sky darkened and blew out several times as I painted this, leaving the land forms darkly in shadow or oddly lit. I let it be.

In this case, it took far more self-control to let it be than it would have taken to organize it and force it into something more normal and comfortable. In the end, I decided to keep it unreal. Not as easy as it sounds!