Hank Buffington knows a painting is done when the light is gone.

"A painting usually takes me 60 to 90 minutes to complete," he says. "Any longer than 90 minutes and the light has changed too much. I can't continue working without changing the whole painting.

"I've tried going back to work on the same painting, at the same time on a different day. That doesn't work. I usually kill it on that second day."

Buffington, whose work is featured this month at Strawberry & Co., says he is attracted to shapes and color when scouting locations. He primarily works in land and cityscapes -- more of the latter these days -- and he paints in oils and acrylics.

And he'll only paint on the scene. He refuses to work from photos or memory.

"There's really no substitute for painting from life, seeing the dimensions of the space and the changing light," Buffington says.

"I used to work from photographs for my commercial work. It's really not the same. Everything's flattened out -- the colors, the light, the contrast. It's very different in a photo."

Besides, he says, he enjoys getting out into the open air, in all kinds of weather, to paint the scenes that catch his eye.

"I paint weekend mornings, so pretty much whatever the weather and light provide, I'm kind of stuck with it," he says.

"I'm a stay-at-home dad with five kids, so those weekend mornings are my time away. Rain or shine, all year-round. It doesn't matter, I'm out."

During the week, Buffington says, he will often drive around Lancaster or out in the country, looking for the next place to set up his easel.

"If I'm out in the country, I have places where I go consistently. I know what they have to offer," he says.

"In the city, I drive around a little. There's usually a situation I'm looking for, like an alley. And the direction the sun is pointing will determine which side I'll be painting on.

"I'll wander a bit until I find what I'm looking for," he adds. "It's a little harder in the city. Finding the exact spot I need -- I can't block an entire sidewalk, I can't stand in the middle of the street."

Wherever he ends up, and whatever angle he chooses to paint, Buffington says he will finish the work on the spot.

"Sometimes when I get home, some edges or lines will bother me and I'll clean them up before I clean my brushes," he says. "But I don't want to make anything up. I want to be accurate If I was going to make it up, I could stay home and sleep in."

That doesn't mean he adheres strictly to reality, however.

"My intentions are really different now than they used to be," he says. "When I started, it was about documenting the scene. Now, I'm searching for an interpretation.

"For instance, I'll leave windows and doors out because I like the shape better. Or I'll change the colors. ... I don't want to get so far that it's no longer inspired by the location and the day that I'm there experiencing it, but I want to use it as a starting point to explore something else."

Buffington enjoys the latitude of rendering the scene with a looser eye.

"It's like figure drawing, where I'm just trying to paint the model rather than painting a portrait, where it has to be the person, has to be recognizable," he explains.

"My older pieces are much more matter-of-fact. Choosing those off-the-beaten path places gives me a little more freedom to experiment and push things beyond what I'm given.

"But it's not getting completely abstract. There's still space and form."

A 1993 art school graduate, Buffington used to work almost exclusively on computers. It's been two years since he moved his work outside, trading a mouse and monitor for an easel and brushes.

"I feel more in touch with the piece, because I'm actually out there making it," he says. "With digital work, you're always behind that screen. Working with paint on a canvas is completely different from working digitally."

Although he used to prefer rural scenes, Buffington says he's drawn more these days to "the shapes of the city."

"Nature is more chaos, while buildings have that man-made organization and structure," he says.

"Although I do still paint a lot of rural scenes, the scenic stuff. It all depends on my mood."

Landscapes by Hank Buffington

Opening reception, Fri. from 5-8 p.m.

Cont. through Feb.

Tues.-Sat. 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Free

Strawberry & Co.

11 W. King St., 392-5345
www.strawberryandco.com