Impressionists rejected the “academic” techniques of earlier movements in favor of short, bold brushstrokes that captured light and color rather than fine details. Impressionists most frequently painted landscapes and other subjects in nature and used the plein air technique of painting outdoors and directly in view of their subjects. To capture the natural light, artists painted quickly, attempting to depict an “impression” of the scene rather than a detailed copy. In this plein air landscape, "Sagebrush & Pines" the largesse and grandeur of California is captured by a succession of overlapping hills receding into a blue-gray distance: this, Jim Lamb effectively communicates, is a vast and effulgent landscape. The open, blue sky and the interlocking permutations of green suggest healthfulness and, by extension, optimism.