(See two prior posts). This incomplete painting was painted while I was "gallery sitting" at our gallery, Tumalo in Bend. (if you are ever in Bend, do come by.)
Well, it is a very long day (10:00AM to 7:00 PM). Around one or two o'clock I pulled out my easel, paints, etc. I had decided to work on a larger piece (this is 16 x 20) from a sketch I did last summer and reference photos.

An hour or so later a couple came in. The woman seemed very interested in looking at art...the man a little bored. He approached me as I was painting and asked if I was going to put in any people. I said that I hadn't intended to as this was all about quiet, distant places where one can be alone. He continued that as an artist, I could take liberties, and that paintings with people in them were more interesting. I acknowledged that some landscapes are greatly improved by just the hint of a person (recalling some great beach scenes with dots that resolve themselves into distant people) and that many landscapes are really about people,just not this one. He was a persistent little bugger, and suggested that I should be more creative. I refrained from saying, "If you buy this work instead of kibitzing, I will put in a damn human."
His wife (or girlfriend, or hopefully person on first date who will never go out with him again) was rolling her eyes the whole time.
The painting is far from finished...it is really just the initial blocking in of shapes and values, but I don't foresee any folks in it!