Pleinair Painting

   If you're a painter you've probably tried a clayboard at some time or another. I did it yesterday. They were on sale...so I decided to try them out. I've heard people rave about the amount of detail you can get with them. Since I was painting an organic farm with lots of interesting plantings...I decided now was the time to give it a try. It was the most frustrating material I've ever worked with! The paint slid around on the surface not finding anything to cling to. Lines were impossible and detail was even more impossible. Also the adjacent colors were picking up each other and blending into a terrible muddy mess. After two hours of struggling...I took a turpentine rag and wiped the whole thing out! The last time I wiped out a painting was about 15 years ago. I was so downcast. After sitting there for a few minutes in front of the beautiful little building I was trying to paint...a little voice inside my head said: "Other people use this board and come out wit