Gemstone Buying Guide (What to look for outside the US)

A word that is being used in the description of many ebay painting listings is "Plein Air". I thought I would write this guide to help describe just what that means, what makes for a plein air painting, and how you can tell if you are truely looking at one. "En plein air" is a French expression which means "in the open air", and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors. Painting on location in the open air is also called "Painting from Life". "Painting from Life" is a sensory pursuit like no other painting experience and working in natural light is a challenge for any artist. It challenges the artist to focus on sight, sound, surroundings and atmosphere and merge all of this information into a creation on canvas or paper in a limited amount of time. The goal is to capture the moment, the light, the color, the feeling... which can change in a matter of seconds. Sometimes it happens, and sometimes it doesn't. But when it does all come together, there is a harmony of man with nature, and for me, there is harmony with The One who created that nature in the first place.