I have to say, I was in a high profile spot, and had done a bit of walking, at first in a steady, soft rain. I tried to figure a way of painting while it was raining, all the values were softened and the atmosphere added to the mystery of the site. But, the spot I wanted to paint from was pretty near a well traveled road, and I would have blocked the footpath.
When I got to the second set of stones, the stones were larger. I read that Neolithic man had actually broken some of the stones, why??? I walked all around the perimeter of the 950 stones and said to myself, "you have to paint these." After all, we were having a dialogue.
The fallen stones were so huge, that I was reminded of beached whales. People are prevented from walking among the stones because the death of the plants exposes the soil, the soil erodes and exposes the base of the stones. Then, there is danger that the stones will topple over. Can't imagine what that sounds and feels like.
With a guide, you can get access, or if you go between October and April some of the gates are open and you can walk in and on the little footpaths.
The rain had stopped and I set up and painted relatively uninterrupted. Near the end of the painting a nice man asked if he could take photos of me. I said yes if he'd take some with my camera.
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