Carl Bretzke Plein Air Painter
Plein Air Painter Carl Bretzke

Carl Bretzke

Fine Art Plein Air Painter

Carl and I met back when we were taking landscape oil painting classes from Joe Paquet. I’ve enjoyed watching him develop his style and continuously improve over the years.

His paintings often have large dark areas, rich color saturation and he varnishes them to a high shine. As a result, these qualities present major challenges to photograph, but they always come out because of my specialized process.

Best of Show or First Place Awards

First Place Quick Paint Awards

Grand Prize winner of the Plein Air Salon Magazine sponsored by Plein Air Magazine
Member- Plein Air Painters of America (PAPA)

Press

The Washington Post included Carl in this Museum review.
Outdoor Painter bio article with my photos of Carl’s work.

Lean more about Carl Bretzke by visiting his website.

Carl Bretzke Paintings I’ve Photographed

Click on the paintings to see larger image & details.
Actual files provided are up to 36 megapixel images.
Details and pricing are here.

Carl Bretzke painting photographed by Mitch Rossow - Hillside Glow

Hillside Glow

by Carl Bretzke
July 3, 2024/by Mitch Rossow
Carl Bretzke painting photographed by Mitch Rossow - Golden Horizon Above Avalon

Golden Horizon Above Avalon

by Carl Bretzke
November 5, 2023/by Mitch Rossow
Carl Bretzke painting photographed by Mitch Rossow - Traveling to the Wild Side

Traveling to the Wild Side

by Carl Bretzke
September 26, 2023/by Mitch Rossow
Carl Bretzke painting photographed by Mitch Rossow - Sun Setting Over Frozen Lake 18x24

Sun Setting Over Frozen Lake

by Carl Bretzke
August 22, 2023/by Mitch Rossow
Carl Bretzke painting photographed by Mitch Rossow - Great Lakes Grandeur

Great Lakes Grandeur

by Carl Bretzke
July 27, 2023/by Mitch Rossow
Carl Bretzke painting photographed by Mitch Rossow - Morning Light at River's Bend

Morning Light at River’s Bend

by Carl Bretzke
May 27, 2023/by Mitch Rossow
Carl Bretzke painting photographed by Mitch Rossow - Salmon Sky

Salmon Sky

by Carl Bretzke
May 4, 2023/by Mitch Rossow
Carl Bretzke painting photographed by Mitch Rossow - Telluride, Looking East

Telluride, Looking East

by Carl Bretzke
April 18, 2023/by Mitch Rossow
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Master of the Nocturne Painting

Photographing nocturnes (night or dark paintings) is a challenge. I developed my technique partly do to this challenge.

Carl is so good at painting nocturnes, he actually created a 9-hour educational video on how to paint them. Here is an almost two hour preview. Thanks Carl!

Gallery Owner, Laura Grenning, talks about new paintings at Grenning Gallery including works by Carl.

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Testimonials

I want to express my gratitude for your dedication to your business, which means your dedication to your clients! Your skilled work of photographing my paintings never disappoints. I am always extremely satisfied and amazed at the quality and your ability to capture the painting down to the smallest detail. Thank you!

Sue Wipf

Hats off to Mitch Rossow Photography for shooting my completed nocturne paintings and somehow eliminating all the surface glare.

Carl Bretzke Plein Air Painter

I am an oil painter working in the contemporary style of expressive realism. Mitch Rossow has been my photographer for a few years now, and I have nothing but glowing words to describe what it is like to work with him. His photos have captured accurately the gamut of color palettes that I use, whether the subject is an 8×10” Plein Air flower study, the subtle gradations in 30×40”  sunrises over the ocean, or large 4×6’ studio paintings of Italian villages and vistas…
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Mary Pettis Fine Art Oil Painting Photography

I would recommend anyone who needs art photography to avail themselves of Mitch Rossow Photography. We have worked together for 10 years and in that time has photographed and catalogued all my paintings besides managing all my website duties.
He believes in quality and craft.
Over the years he has refined his process to such an extent that the usual problems of glare and delicate color balance are no longer an issue.
For me personally his ability to hit subtle neutral tones and extremely nuanced tonal transitions make him the only choice to work with. Personally he is a courteous, punctual and easy to work with – a true professional.
Joe Paquet

Joe Paquet Portrait

Hey Mitch, just wanted to let you know that I had that same large hats painting photographed by another photographer that you had done for me because I wanted to compare the results.
Yours is by far the better one.
The old method I had been relying on of going from transparency first and then to a scan is really pretty inferior now that I see them side by side.
Wish I’d had you photographing my works these past many years. Oh well, live and learn. Thanks!
Steven J Levin

Self Portrait 2007

I’ve tried to photograph my own work for years, and it never worked well. I couldn’t get the painting square, neither the color nor the detail could be captured properly, and they were barely usable for my portfolio and website.
I’ve also used professional scans of my paintings. While these turned out better than my personal photographs, details were often lost, the color wasn’t always accurate, and I had issues with banding when producing prints.
I’ve used several professional photographers that specialize in art documentation, including at local museums. None have come close to capturing the amount of detail and accuracy that Mitch achieves with his photographs.
Matthew Rucker

Matthew-and-Amira
Joe PaquetSunset, Tuscany 30x50-painting by Joe PaquetArtwork Photography of 21 Hats-Steve LevinSteven J Levin