Reddit reviews Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps (American Lives)

I'm not sure what it looks like after this drought, but I love the open grassland inside the Pioneers Park Nature Center. You have to go for a short walk to get there though, so no painting from your car.

If you don't mind a short drive (and a State Park entry permit), consider the observation towers at Platte River State Park or Mahoney State Park.

There are lots of beautiful vistas not far outside of town. Consider the rolling hills of the "Bohemian Alps" north of town that Ted Kooser loves so much, or my ancestors' stomping grounds to the south and southeast.

Holmes Lake Park offers lots of good scenic opportunities. I personally love to watch people walking, biking, and working out on the dam as the sun goes down on a gorgeous day. Or sometimes if you're really lucky you can catch dozens of turkey vultures circling over the dam -- I've only seen that happen around mid-morning, but they may do it other times as well.

Do you like to paint people? Try events like: SouthPointe's Friday Night Live concert series; the Stransky Park concert series; the farmers markets in the Haymarket and on Old Cheney Road; Celebrate Lincoln; Ribfest; and so on. On an ongoing basis, consider one of Lincoln's food trucks or the evening bar scene Downtown. And if you can't find something "scenic" on a Husker football game day, you aren't looking.

Hopefully one or more of those ideas generates a lead for you.