At 85, plein air painter J. Allison Robichaud still paints outdoors, even in winter.
"It's not fun standing outside in minus-20 weather, but when you get back and you've done a good painting, you've really won over yourself. The great artists will tell you that the freshness is in plein air. In the studio the light never changes, the coffee's ready, there are a thousand and one excuses. You have time to think, to mull over. You can't do that in plein air painting -- sure, you can take moments to step back, see if the composition or colour is right, but that's it."
He plans to paint about 120 plein air paintings this year. He also paints still lifes in his studio in Sarnia, Ontario, at the southern tip of Lake Huron. His website offers three of his publications as well.
Sarah Judson
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