By Mike Rosso
“I am following Nature without being able to grasp her, I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.” – Claude Monet
They ply their craft, insects circling their heads. A sudden gust of wind upends several hours of work. Random clouds blot out the sun shortly before the dreaded rains begin to fall. Passersby freely offer unsolicited opinions.
These are only some of the hazards a landscape painter might encounter when they decide to abandon their studios for the great outdoors. Yet the desire to paint from real life, in the moment, is attracting more and more artists – drawn to the challenges and to the pure joy of en plein air, a French term for “in the open air.”