Plein Air Complexity : Watercolors by Jan Vogtman

A column by Carolyn Henderson

Plein air painters get used to all sorts of weather. Because of the nature of their studio – outside, in the plain air – they operate without a roof over their heads. Unless, of course, they choose to bring one of their own.

"During the Paint du Nord Quick Draw competition in Duluth, MN, we painted in a huge rainstorm," watercolor artist Jan Vogtman remembers. "The competition lasted two hours, exactly – they blow a horn to start and stop."

Told to paint what she saw, Vogtman took the challenge literally.

"My painting shows all the artists painting around me with...