I’m incredibly fortunate to live within a thirty minute drive of two National Park Service sites. Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park is the closer, just down the road in Cornish, New Hampshire.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve visited, with family, friends, on my own and most recently, with my plein air group.

I’m boring… I paint the same building each time, the Little Studio, getting better with every rendition even though I continue to struggle with perspective. This day I sat in the field ignoring the yellow-jacket buzzing around me and focused on grape vines twining on the pergola as the tours came and went.

Once I was finished I looked for my artist friends but they had spread out across the property. Eventually I joined one who was painting from a lovely bench with a view of Ascutney across the river in Vermont.

Yes, that’s the other scene I consistently paint but no regrets here… it’s just fun!

OK… I’ve had enough with the Little Studio! I hereby declare I will paint something else when I next visit. But sorry no promises about the mountain. As Cyndi Lauper sang, girls just want to have fun.

A5 landscape Arteza Watercolor Book