A real gift of a day! We received permission to paint on the grounds of the 540-acre Clark’s Elioak Farm in western Howard County. Set on a hill overlooking gorgeous views of green fields, middle-distant stands of trees, and a large pond, the restored farmhouse, lawns, gardens, and outbuildings all presented a myriad of excellent subject possibilities. It took me almost an hour to decide what to paint! The scattered showers in the forecast never materialized; instead we had bright sun, a cool breeze, and 360 degrees of gorgeous. While most of the other artists settled themselves on the shady lawn and worked on views of the distant fields, I opted for a two-rut farm road - one of my favorite subjects - passing through a gate, disappearing briefly down an incline, and appearing again in the distance, crossing tilled fields on its way to meet up with Centennial Lane. I’ve posted the painting here: “The Back Road.” For more information on Clark’s Elioak, the Petting Farm, and the Clark family’s rescue of the characters from the former Enchanted Forest children’s park, see Lisa Regnante’s April 15, 2009, bog post at www.explorehoward.com .