This is the salt marsh at Caumsett State Park and this place has gotten into my blood. Normally it takes much longer for me to feel this way about a particular place. I used to need to have much more of a sense of familiarity, I needed to have been there often or to have something special take place there. Like Prybil’s Beach in Glen Cove where I spent so many summer days or Fair Harbor on Fire Island where I used to vacation with my family.

I had only been to Caumsett once before that I can remember. But in the early Spring of 2009 I was driving around to the more familiar places that I paint and I just wasn’t getting turned on to anything, not getting that feeling that says “Ooh, I NEED to paint that”. What I needed was something new, some place new and Caumsett popped into my head. I ended up spending a lot of time painting there this past season and will be back on the first moderately warm day because it has so much to offer.

I have painted out at the marsh a few times now. It is about a two mile walk with all of my gear on my back so it is not easy to get to. And, to be honest, it is not the kind of place that offers great views everywhere you turn. But the few places where I like to set up my easel are worth the walk. That coupled with the strategy of visiting at different times of day and in different seasons are what make places like Caumsett such a treat. There is always a surprise. And what I’ve learned is that an artist needs to be surprised. That can get into your blood with even more conviction than familiarity.

I’ve discovered crock-pot cooking! After just a little bit of preparation and an average of eight hours of cooking time you get a wonderful hot and nutritious meal and, as an added bonus, wonderful smells throughout the house. It is, for me, an ideal way for the busy artist to prepare good food.

The other thing I’ve discovered is that I’m spending more time in the produce department of my local grocery store. For a recent gumbo recipe I needed all kinds of things that I don’t normally buy including okra. I also needed some tomatoes and wandered over to where there sat a nice selection of wonderful red-orange vine ripened beauties. I settled on one in particular and separated it from the others by breaking off the dried vine and, when it was alone in my hand, I suddenly was taken with its nice shape and the wonderful pattern the vine made. I knew right away that I would have to paint it.