Plein air painting, like gardening, I think I like the idea of a lot more than I do the thing itself. It seems romantic and natural, kind of the way things should be done. It also requires a lot of movement of supplies and inconveniences.
I use my computer for most art projects, with guidance from Google images or other photographs in digital form. However, I do enjoy a rare moment when I can bring a small piece of outside indoors, and study it in the comfort of my familiar environs. :)
In the last few weeks, I listened to "The Inner Landscape of Beauty, an interview of poet and philosopher John O'Donoghue" by Krista Tippett. (https://onbeing.org/programs/john-odonohue-the-inner-landscape-of-beauty-aug2017/)
Among the topics discussed is Celtic music. Both acknowledge its particular capacity to summon up the great joys and sorrows, somehow at once. Donoghue attributes this to he fact that it contains the lines of landscape, and the history of the people. He reflects, "I always think that music is what language would love to be if it could."
The other weekend I heard Jarlath Henderson, one of the artists at the Richmond Folk Fest, who happened to come from Northern Ireland. Em, he's worth a listen.
