The combination of wind and rain will eventually shut down an oil painting, too, even when you're under a good umbrella. But despite the challenges, rain is a time-honored subject for plein air painters, with its moody light and glistening reflections. Here are a few stories of how I tried to paint from life on rainy days.
DROPLETS ON THE WINDSHIELD
Painting in gouache is usually impossible if it's raining. Why not paint from inside the car? There's an interesting effect that I want to capture: raindrops on the windshield. That means painting the out-of-focus landscape view first, so that the attention stays on the plane of the window. The droplets form an are along the outer path of the wiper.
DOWNPOUR AT THE FARMERS MARKET
The weatherman warns of a lightning storm with a torrential downpour. I'm ready. I protect my easel with two big umbrellas, each clamped to its own C-stand. I stand in the gap between them. As the rain starts, a cold stream heads down my neck. When the wind picks up, I put my foot on the base of one of the C-stands to keep it from blowing down.
My wife sets up under the open tailgate of our van. She's out of the rain, but her watercolor washes won't dry. Another friend has a half an inch of water pooling in the box of his French easel.
This story is from the October/November 2022 edition of International Artist.
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This story is from the October/November 2022 edition of International Artist.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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