3:58 PM: above right: i worked over the most recent state, which i talk about in my 3:20 pm post, and softened it. the latest version is on the left, above. i may work back into it tomorrow.

3:20 PM: once again, the skies have darkened, the wind has picked up and the temperature has dropped abruptly to 64F, and we're having our daily afternoon thunderstorm. so i'm calling it a day. here's the current state. i think it's at that stage where it's become too specific. i liked it better this morning, when it had a softer more mysterious look about it. that will all change tomorrow no doubt. but it continues to be a striking painting with a strong presence.

8:32 AM: we did our thrice weekly trail walk this morning. after yesterday afternoon's thunderstorms, the fragrances were powerfully intoxicating. you can actually feel al the predicted effects 2 hours in the wilderness has on your mind, body & spirit.

on our way back we stopped off at the studio to view gaze 26. mikela agreed, it's very close. she raised some questions as to how much it diverges from the spirit of the rest of the gaze series. i'll look at that more closely once i get to the studio, about 10 am.

i may want to give more definition to her large gold colored earrings, which don't quite read as earrings right now, but not of course at the expensive the the integrity of the picture surface.