Meadow, Left and Meadow, Right ~ Potomac Artworks

5.19.2010

Meadow, Left and Meadow, Right

I usually paint en plein air or from photographs. That's not to say I lack imagination. Instead, it means I haven't run out of material I can actually see yet.

Meadow, Left and Meadow, Right are a diptych from my imagination. I enjoyed having a whole as well as each piece with good composition. Even though my Featured Artist show at the Workhouse next month is bearing down on me, I took the time for some small pieces, as I may be back at DLA/Ft. Belvoir next month and those lovely folks bought a number of small works which I must replenish!

This duo has a watercolor underpainting, especially evident in the sky, on UArt 400 grade. Overall size is 4x12.

Meadow, Left and Meadow, Right
soft pastel
4x6 each on UArt 400

2 comments:

ariel freeman said...: Beautiful. I love the yellows and magenta; May 20, 2010 at 10:46 AM
Bonnie said...: Thanks, Ariel. Great to see you.; May 23, 2010 at 2:24 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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5.19.2010