One of the ways in which I have experimented with watercolor has been to adhere thoroughly wet paper to an archival wood panel and begin painting as the paper adheres and begins to dry. This is a technique that has risk because of the immediacy of making sure the paper is properly adhering to the panel and the need to quickly paint the image. I did not prepare ahead of time exactly what I would be painting but choose instead to search the immediacy of the moment to paint in Ala prima - or begin and finish at one time. The subject, however, was one I had been studying for several years as I frequented a back country road and spotted the unusual way the branches of this tree were entwined. On this specific road, a mountain close by provided a view to include this and the old home and stream of this farm. I kept the background of the. mountains as a pale abstraction to have the foreground of the trees be the subject of the painting. After compiling the painting, it is technically necessary to allow for thorough drying of the paper and panel - this takes several days. After this, a delicate process of an intermediate coat of acrylic gel is necessary before varnish is applied. A possibility of smearing the paint exists while accomplishing this and it is a hold your breath moment- for sure. After this coat cures - about a week- it is possible to varnish, and this requires ample drying time. This work is framed in a white custom-made wood floater frame. One of the reasons I have included this painting with Wild Watercolors is that, although the imagery and vision may be calm, the painting process is anything but this!