When I have been in traffic long enough, heard leaf blowers and lawn mowers long enough, been subjected to the cacophony of construction noise long enough, heard ghetto blasters and seen TV long enough, I remove myself. I sit on a hill or a sand dune and draw or paint. I smell the golden grasses and breathe in the sea and try to capture light on water or a bird in flight. It's been done before, I know. Perhaps I do it for the same reasons artists have always painted the land. Or perhaps I feel an intense pull to the land as artists never have.
As the wilds shrink at an alarming rate, the land, especially undisturbed landscape, becomes more sacred than ever. Nature soothes the soul. I hope these landscapes help us remember.
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