Hello Evert -

I have thought of the reality issue nearly everytime I'm on GE! (Now, for you philosophers out there, I'm not talking about reality in the way you might!) I am something of a colorist, that being the first quality that attracts me to anything - OK, I'm also a sugarist - so I could see very early in my GE use that the color is unreliable. I simply take it with a grain of salt and if I absolutely MUST know what colors predominate in a landscape, I try to find an on-the-ground photo. The most disappointing example was when I first "explored" Mauritania. On GE the sand is red-orange nearly everywhere (except lo-res). At sunset the sand can look very orange, like anything else at that time of day. But, for most of the day it's pale yellow or buff. This confuses me, because when I flew over the Sahara years ago it looked red-orange and it was in the middle of the day. So, I suppose this also has to do with the atmosphere between the satellite and the ground, as well as time of day.

I like the "blue city" of Boutilimit.

(maurtin's Picassa Public Album.) This is disappointing for more than its color! I have read many references to the desert being littered with plastic. Maybe I'll paint this and the blue city.

I use whatever colors I like anyway, so knowing the reality is only a vague reference point for me. Of course, I don't try to be accurate for the purpose of telling anything - I'm afraid I'm one of those superficial "paint for the sake of painting" painters." Actually, that is both true and not true. (All normal people and non-artists are now yawning and moving on to the next thread!)

Diane