This bright little painting (7x12) is kind of a masterpiece (I can't say that of my own work can I?). Here's how it began: In my studio I have this small fridge and freezer. The freezer is no more than a little cubbyhole about 13 inches wide. After I have spent the day painting I usually still have globs of fresh paint on my palette. I'm pretty frugal and so I'll slap those globs of paint on a smaller palette and put the paint in the freezer so when I take the frozen paint out the next day it will still be fresh.

After weeks of slopping paint on and then scraping paint off the little 7x12 palette board, some wonderful colors and shapes began to emerge and a winter sunset was born. I added the man, his wife and child on a horse and then the brush took over until I had this nice little painting!

I have several other little palettes that I'm letting "mature" and we'll see what happens with them.

By the way, if you don't have a freezer handy you can keep your paint from drying up by submersing your oil paints in water until you want to use them the next day or so. If too much time passes with either saving method just throw the paint away and start over. Up here in Wyoming with the weather being dry and very cold, or dry and cold or dry and not too warm, the paints will stay fresh during a painting session. However, down in Arizona many of my darker colors would begin to dry before too many hours. One famous artist I know would leave his paints out and the next day would peel the drying "skin" back and continue to use the paint. I don't recommend that.