It's not the first time this summer I'd seen a guy doing that. In fact around town I've several times seen men―and they've all happened to be men―doing alfresco watercolors of some landmark or others. I don't know what exactly is behind this trend but I approve of it. Women are welcome too, of course.
Saturday, August 24, 2024
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2 comments:
It's a fine thing to see someone exercising such a skill outdoors in the fresh air. I wonder if the guys you've noticed painting these landmarks are generally older, because I'd guess they are. All the younger people seem to be using their smartphone cameras to provide visual memories notable sights. Somehow I think the memories generated by hand wil last longer.
One of my old blog friends once described how he felt about painting en plein air:
"I recalled that I loved the area by the river in Danville, VA, and there was a lot of aging red brick. This is what I found, with the sketch below it. Sketching is more a way of seeing, for me, than it is a way to produce finished artwork. To some extent it doesn't matter to me if I finish a sketch, as long as I'm done looking."
Now that you mention it I think they've all been old enough not to be considered kids, at the very least. The guy I had seen most recently when I wrote this post was, I'd guess, somewhere in his late forties. Of course at this point I see a lot of people older than I who are also glued to their phones. By the same token I keep my fingers crossed that younger folks will find a more nourishing activity.
Sketching as a way of seeing makes a lot of sense. In ordinary experience a lot of us do tend to glide over things and not really notice their various aspects. So it's a kind of deeper attention. From the pictures I've seen Danville, Virginia is a very picturesque city, so it seems like he had a lot of material to work with.
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