"Sittin' in the Shade" This painting was inspired by a relatively quiet moment at YMCA Camp Iroquois. At the end of each summer the camp becomes ART CAMP. Campers have the opportunity to experience drawing, painting, clay and music...sometimes even drama, as well as swimming, boating etc. It's always a high energy week for kids and the teachers too! Well, when I snapped the picture for this scene everyone had left for the day. I walked down to the waterfront and spotted the canoes resting up for the night in anticipation of another busy day tomorrow. The rowboat which always seems to be resting on the other side of the lake at its' narrowest point was nicely framed by the canoes and the trees in the foreground. When I took the picture I was intrigued by the serenity of the sun-dappled scene. Later transferring the scene to canvas, I enjoyed "finding" the color in the neutral areas like the ground and the aluminum canoes. Areas that usually are just brown or just grayish present so many opportunities to play with color, as a means to try to achieve the value needed, but not necessarily the actual local color.