MPS and Richard McKinley ~ Potomac Artworks

9.25.2009

MPS and Richard McKinley

First off, let me say how grateful I am to both Maryland Pastel Society for hosting and to Richard McKinley for venturing east. I am thrilled to be a part of Richard's four day workshop next week in Leesburg, VA, where I experience pastels and plein air from a premier painter.

I consider it to be a life-altering experience.

(To the right, Oatlands Plantation is a popular Leesburg painting location.)

Richard juried the pieces in the MPS Shades of Pastel Show, too, and will judge for some major prizes.

The show opens on September 26, 2009 and runs through November 7, 2009. The opening and awards ceremony takes place on October 4 at the Strathmore in Bethesda, MD, from 1 to 3 pm. Best in show, $1,500. with other cash and merchandise awards totaling $5,000. For the first time, there is also a Member's Choice Award.

Because of time constraints, I did not enter, but fellow Workhouse Associate, Ariel Freeman, did and her piece, Flourishing Above the Surface, was accepted into this national show of 99 pieces.

I wish Ariel all the best and can't wait to see the show, as well as to meet Richard next week.

1 comment:

ariel freeman said...: Thank you so much for mentioning me in your blog! Have a great workshop. I soooo wish I could have done it as well.; September 25, 2009 at 11:42 PM

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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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9.25.2009