Have you ever wondered: who does the remembering?

Cape Cod Great Marsh Sketch/Marsh Labyrinth 2 Katherine Kean
graphite on paper 6 x 6 inches

Our physical bodies are entirely replaced by every seven to ten years - some parts sooner. Surface skin is replaced every two weeks or so, the stomach lining in 5 days, the liver 300 - 500 days and the skeleton in seven 

to ten years.

So, who remembers? What part of a person stores the memories of people, places, and things from youth? 

Cape Cod Great Marsh Sketch/Marsh Labyrinth 3 Katherine Kean
graphite on paper 6 x 6 inches

It has been suggested that when drawing and painting from memory that it may be better to observe intensely and then do the 'transcribing' back in the studio. A famous art teacher, Lecoq de Boisbaudran,  instructed his drawing students to visit the Louvre to carefully study a painting in order to reproduce it from memory later. This would develop observation and memory skills, as well as help the student to discover their own visual language.

Your body is younger than you think.

Where are old memories stored in the brain.

Any proverbs about weather....

... are doubly true during a storm. 

~Ed Northstrum

I Stop for Drops 2012 Katherine Kean

(work in progress) oil on linen 12 x 16 inches

Here's a progression from drawing through details.

As you can see I ended up with much more description of the background and less focus on the drops.

Above are the first three (or so) layers from a beginning coral/pink, next a minty, pale green, and then shapes suggested in transparent brown tones. I could almost have begun with the drops at this stage, however I got carried away.

It was so much fun painting the distant urban landscaping, the trees, and the car that I just kept on going.

When I got around to adding the drops I worked from left to right, only working with the largest shapes at first.

This is what it looks like close up.

I'm undecided now. I can just finish this up with a few more glazes, or I may decide to paint over the bottom, this time taking away detail, or perhaps paint an alternate version. I'm not sure - what would you do?