Thomas Wezwick has good stories about his adventures painting en plein air. Like that time somebody brought him eight fresh trout, just cooked over an open fire.
“I am sure there are many, many similar stories,” says Wezwick. “I have been painting outdoors, on and off, for 30 years, and in all those years I have been kicked off — and verbally assaulted — just once. People of all kinds love the magic or seemingly magic act of painting on location.”
Wezwick recalls, “I had been painting in this area, and the folks that live in a nearby house had seen me out and about. They were wondering what this guy (me) was doing. The wife told her husband, ‘I think I will go for a walk and see what that guy is up to.’ She walked by me, said hello, and checked out my painting in progress. Then, down the road came her husband. He immediately was engrossed in what I was doing. We talked about art, life, my hijo (boy), and how beautiful this valley was. So after a little more time, he went back to the house and returned with the eight trout.”
Wezwick told the man that the next time he was in the area he would give them one of his paintings. He did: “Out and About.” When Wezwick shared the story online, dozens of artists took note, with many pointing out that painting and art often bring about just this kind of interaction with people. And one declared the trout “the best commission ever.”
