Finding a place to paint a landscape - a rural village

Honestly, this is my first time coming all the way up to the back left side of this village.

Maybe it's just in my head, but for an outsider to walk down a quiet rural alleyway in broad daylight isn't usually welcomed—it's more likely to attract suspicious glances.However, as a plein air painter, wherever I find a place worth painting, I paint right on the spot, and I actively wander around looking for such places.

Last year, while I was painting at a seaside shelter by the road in front of this village, I ended up chatting with three elderly village grandmothers. I offered them two oranges and a few pieces of snacks that I had brought for lunch/snacks, and in return, they gave me soy milk and rice crackers.

Ever since then, whenever I passed by, I couldn't help but wonder and worry if those elderly grandmothers were doing well and staying healthy. At the same time, it wouldn't do to just suddenly go knocking on their doors...

On one hand, it reminded me of my own aging mother back in the countryside...Growing old, aging, and ending up alone is an unavoidable destiny for all human beings, but whenever I think about it, I can't help feeling heartbroken and sorrowful.

I wondered if they might have suffered any damage from the recent torrential rains... but other than a few spots where the back mountain gave way, it looked like there was no major damage, which was a huge relief.

I parked my car in a small open space after squeezing through a narrow road barely wide enough for one car, walked under the shade of a large hackberry tree, spent about ten minutes walking around in the scorching sun to find a good composition for painting, and clicked the shutter.

If I had known the sunlight would be this stinging and hot, I should have carried a parasol and worn sun sleeves...

I've naturally never been close to sunscreen, so even when I buy it, I tend not to use it. Looking in the mirror, my sun-baked, deeply tanned face looks unfamiliar, almost like someone from another country. But because heading out for outdoor painting (plein air) day in and day out—even in the sweltering heatwave—is just my daily routine, there's no helping it.

The landscape and composition are coming together decently. If I'm going to paint this composition, a P-size (landscape size) canvas would probably be just right.

This scenery isn't bad either. I took it with some care, and although I didn't care much for it when I checked it later, looking at it again now, it's actually quite nice.

For this landscape, I forced a crop at the bottom. I cropped it to avoid including some eyesore structures, but it's a bit awkward—can't really be helped. 

My phone's storage is completely maxed out... it feels a waste to delete anything, but I can't afford to buy an external hard drive right now, which is really frustrating. 

I have no choice but to use my phone while deleting photos and keeping only a few. As I write this, I realize... I deeply regret not capturing more of these various landscapes.

Once the intense heat subsides a bit, I should head over to the other side of the village again to check out the compositions, do some plein air painting, and snap some well-composed scenery. As you likely know very well, if you ever visit a rural village, you must be very careful and mindful not to cause any inconvenience or disruption to the locals. Also, just as a heads-up, the farm road leading down the other side is far too dangerous for beginners, so keep that in mind.

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