I have not painted in oils since last August when I packed up my home and moved into Portland and then Bali. All my oils and equipment are packed away on a box...somewhere. It seemed almost impossible to bring them to Bali so I took up watercolor because it seemed easier for traveling. However, I miss smearing that wonderful buttery oil paint around—blending and layering. I had a teacher once who said "if you paint what is in shadow and then paint what is in light the rest of the painting will paint itself". That has never happened, but I still say it in my mind when I oil paint. Watercolor is very difficult. I panic a bit because it either dries too fast or I paint when it is still too wet. Either way I get mud. It is very frustrating! Today I used my small palette of gouache (as much like oil paint as possible) and did this beach study from a photo I took at sunset in Jimbaran, on the west side of the island.