Cape May Wetlands ~ Potomac Artworks

5.14.2010

Cape May Wetlands

I call them zigzag paintings. A single color is roughly drawn across the width of the surface to create a building block in adding more layers to the painting of a grassy scene.

This is my interpretation, which is a bit less linear. John Carlson is always whispering in my ear to make things atmospherically correct and to properly convey distance, for which strictly using zigzag strokes would not work for me.

Yet. I'm sure I'll try more.

Cape May Wetlands
pastel on Pastelbord
7x5

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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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5.14.2010