SoCal plein-air painter Richard J. Oliver knows the more the artist can say with a single brush stroke, the more rewarding. He channels the savvy artist’s maxim: “less is more.” It’s the polar opposite of how he once painted—in the studio he’s maintained for the past 30 years. “I often explain it metaphorically as a process…

In March of last year I travelled  to Vermont, along with 40 other painters, in search of snow. It is an annual pilgrimage made by many painters, led by Stapleton Kearns, T.M. Nicholas, and Eric Tobin. It’s arguably the worst time of year to be in Vermont, with freezing temperatures and icy winds, but who…