Lily Pads at Green Spring Gardens ~ Potomac Artworks

10.23.2007

Lily Pads at Green Spring Gardens

I was in a plein air class with Sarah Linda Poly through The Art League in Alexandria. Everyone else was working in oils; I'd barely begun my journey in oils and was the lone pastelist. The exposure, however, was perfect for my training overall.

Because massive, close in clumps of foliage blind me, I wandered around the pond area and wound up looking down instead for my source. The reflection among the lily pads spoke to me. It was completed on site.

SOLD
Pastel on Wallis Belgian Mist, 14x11

1 comment:

Bonnie said...: Thanks so much for your positive comment.

"[T]here was a dreaminess and serenity to your paintings. I'm envious of your talent and thank you for sharing this very special part of yourself."; September 28, 2008 at 4:04 AM

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The Charm of en Plein Air

Much of my work is done en plein air, French for "in the open air." People often associate it with the Impressionists, but the move to paint outside preceded them by a number of decades. The trend to appreciate landscapes as a genre at all was new for the time.

Several characteristics contribute to the distinctive beauty of en plein air painting. They are generally smaller in size in order to be able to capture a scene in a single sitting. Because of the time limit and environmental factors such as the sun and shadows moving, they often lack extensive details and might appear slightly fuzzy or unfinished. Lastly, they tend to have a freshness and spontaneity which makes them impossible to compare to traditional and methodological studio work. That said, my own studio work tends toward the same feel as en plein air, which then identifies my overall style: softness with an edge.

My aim when painting en plein air is for alla prima paintings, which roughly translates for me as "what happens outside, stays outside." It adds another level of difficulty to the work.

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10.23.2007