The oil painting on cardboard, titled "Before the Rain", masterfully captures the tension and anticipation in the atmosphere just moments before a summer downpour. The artist uses thick, expressive brushstrokes and a rich impasto technique to create a dramatic sky filled with swirling clouds in shades of blue, gray, lilac, and soft pink. The sky dominates the composition, conveying movement and depth as the storm gathers.The lower portion of the painting presents a peaceful rural landscape, contrasting with the turbulent sky above. A small cluster of houses with muted pink rooftops is nestled among dense green foliage. The buildings appear calm and untouched by the impending storm, creating a striking juxtaposition between the land and sky. In the distance, a subtle touch of golden light highlights the tops of the trees, hinting at the last rays of sunlight before the rain arrives.The use of color in the clouds is particularly striking. The artist blends cool blues with warm purples and soft peach tones, suggesting the complex interplay of light and moisture in the atmosphere. The clouds, painted with heavy, almost sculptural strokes, seem to shift and swirl, reinforcing the feeling of an approaching storm.The foreground features a stretch of land painted in earthy greens and browns, grounding the composition and leading the viewer’s eye toward the distant village. The horizontal lines of the landscape contrast with the vertical energy of the sky, further emphasizing the feeling of an impending change in weather.Through "Before the Rain", the artist conveys the beauty and power of nature’s cycles. The painting captures the fragile balance between calm and storm, between stillness and movement. The village, small beneath the vast sky, serves as a reminder of human vulnerability in the face of natural forces. Yet, there is no sense of fear—only quiet anticipation, as if the landscape itself is holding its breath before the first raindrop falls. 3736