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Spending a bit more time is the goal in my book, let me till you why.

A quick block-in seascape, just after sunset, Tamarindo, Costa Rica

 
I want to stay in a place for more than a few weeks when I paint there, for a few good reasons. For starters, I always feel like I did not get to paint as much as I wanted to in that particular area. I like to have a variety of weather for a look at different light and atmosphere. But for me the most important reason for a longer stay is so that I have a true and accurate idea of what that place is like. Not just what it looks like, but how it feels. I want to know what the people are like, I want to know what that place is like when it rains or when it is sunny, hot or cold. And I want to know what it is like when I am in love with it and can't get enough, or what it is like when I am sick of it, and I am having a bad day. 

 
A local friend

 
Understanding how the people and the culture affect a particular area is very important to me. I want to feel the vibrations of that place. 
What we physically see in front of us is what it is. A landscape, seascape, buildings, trees, an ocean, people, cars, flowers, wildlife, plants, and so on. But that is only the surface, I want to go deper with my work.

Some time exploring Langosta, Costa Rica

As an artist I can capture what I am seeing, but that is not my only objective. I want to have a connection with what I am painting. I want to be able capture the inner heartbeat of that place. If I paint a Costa Rican scene and the viewer has been there, I don't just want them to say, "yeah,that looks like Costa Rica," I want them to say, "YES, this IS Costa Rica, this is how it felt!"

 
Rodeo night, Villa Real, Costa Rica

I want enough time to paint of course, but also enjoy it for what it is, not only how it looks.  As an artist and a fan of traveling, I would suggest to anyone who can to stay as long as you can.

One of the last paintings I did while living in Costa Rica

At the end of the day I want to know a place, not just what it looks like. 

Happy painting and traveling, Kyle