In The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, she suggests taking field trips for inspiration. This book is written primarily for “blocked” artists; I take a lot of field trips, and the ideas come much faster than the opportunities for painting.It is the light, always the light.  Sometimes it is the colors, textures, or sense of place. If I paint this, some of that heavy overhang will need to be pruned in some manner. Finally figured out how to get close shots with my PHD but the color is no where near as intense as in reality! It was The Other JB who fell in love with this pine cone. We took an extended hiking break to arrange and photograph this  beautiful specimen of color, texture and shape. We had what my husband refers to as “A Rainbow Day” in Mineral King. Unbelievable clarity with all the fires in California!