For the landscape painter, atmosphere and mood are largely determined by the weather and by the quality of the light. Mist and fog, by softening outlines and obscuring detail can lend an air of mystery and sometimes, magic to a more mundane scene. The presence of grey cloud can establish a sombre mood while dark and lowering storm clouds can evoke a foreboding of menace and doom. Sunlight has the opposite effect and evokes a sense of happiness and well-being. Between the two extremes lies a plethora of experiences and atmospheric effects for the artist to study, analyse and interpret. All else is subordinate to them. (Figure 3)
Thus atmosphere wields the passion in a scene and can send the artist and the
viewer to great heights. Without atmosphere or a sense of mystery, a landscape
or seascape loses a precious ingredient, something which sets a painting apart
from the ordinary.
As COROT remarked " Reality forms a part of art, feeling completes it".