4th Annual Small Works Exhibition, Workhouse Arts Center ~ Potomac Artworks

11.28.2010

4th Annual Small Works Exhibition, Workhouse Arts Center

This year, all my of small works at the Workhouse coordinate. They hang salon-style in a column of five on the first floor of W-16, working beautifully together. And they are selling fast. Replacements will be arriving Wednesday when the Workhouse reopens.

The overall collection on the first floor of W-16 is so much fun - scaled down versions of the usual larger works or all out divergence from the status quo. It is wonderful to see the creativity of my fellow artists and to include the Studio Artists in W-16.

In a personal record, I have eight paintings at the Workhouse through the end of the year. Please visit the second floor to vote for me in the People's Choice so I will have a solo show in the Spring!

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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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11.28.2010