APRIL 2018 • NEBRASKAland 29
masterclass on painting realistic light
and color.
A plein air painter does not copy
nature or include everything she sees.
Instead, the challenge is to winnow
down a scene into its most essential
shapes, and arrange them into an
aesthetically pleasing composition.
A good plein air piece captures the
spirit of a particular time and place,
and inspires the viewer to experience
the emotion and wonder that drew the
artist to that site in the first place.
Nationally acclaimed painter Keith
Jacobshagen of Lincoln has been
painting en plein air for more than 50
years. "The best compliment I get is
when someone tells me, 'We drive out
to my grandparents' house every couple
of weeks, and all of a sudden, I am
really enjoying looking at the landscape.
Before that, I was just kind of bored.'"
Plein air painting is deeply
personal, often connected to an artist's
upbringing and earliest memories.
Jacobshagen's father was a pilot who
scrutinized the skies and appreciated
their beauty. "I remember as a kid,
him coming into the house and saying,
'You've got to look at this cumulous
cloud,'" he said. What Jacobshagen
saw mesmerized him. "There'd be a
whole line of thunderstorms out there,
stretching from horizon to horizon,
with the late afternoon sun on them.
Just extraordinary. So I started looking
pretty early on, paying attention to it."
Painter Debra Joy Groesser of
Ralston grew up camping, fishing
and hiking with her family. "Dad just
instilled a love of nature in us," she
said. "I think about all those memories
when I'm out painting. You just feel
like you're home again, almost."
Among the rewards of plein air is a
renewed connection with nature. "If
you have a love for nature and being
outdoors, there's no greater gift or joy
than just being able to sit and study
nature for three hours," said artist Todd
A. Williams of Central City. "There's
"Crow Call (Near the River)" by Keith Jacobshagen, 1990-1991. Oil on canvas, 46 3/16 by 80 1/8 inches. Courtesy of the
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri.
