“Beauty is before me, Beauty is behind me, Beauty is above me, below me and beside me.” This short form of a Diné prayer has become a mantra for me as I contend with the wide angles of perception: 180 degrees up, down, left, and right. As a human, I have such awareness, the sense of “being there.” This is in contrast with the "slice of vision" information from one unmoving eye that is the basis of so-called “correct” Renaissance perspective, and most camera images.

In order to absorb all these wide angles, I always paint on site.

Painting outside is good—like dancing to live music. It's a dialogue with what's out there and the right here of the dabs of paint.

I fuss with the details of the land because this is where I live and scurry, and I note the tiny color changes that indicate a building or road I know well. With the sky, the dialogue is less “verbal” and more like spontaneous improvisation. I think the clouds are water, and I am mostly water—we are one. I combine energy and intense observation to reflect the love I have for what I contemplate.

— Gail Kort, 2016