PSV Exhibit Ending at Hylton Center ~ Potomac Artworks

6.02.2012

PSV Exhibit Ending at Hylton Center

The Pastel Society of Virginia has an exhibit going through June 9 at the Hylton Center on the campus of GMU-Manassas. Take in an event or head up to the balcony on your own.

5 comments:

Arts cad said...: Sound good.....
Buy painting reproductions
Buy artists posters; June 22, 2012 at 4:42 AM
Arts cad said...: very nice blog, keep it up, will share this site to others.

Buy artist painting
Buy artists original paintings; June 22, 2012 at 4:52 AM
Arts cad said...: Its really a great post.
oil paintings
original oil painting; June 22, 2012 at 4:53 AM
Arts cad said...: Nice............
Art Gallery
buy art; June 22, 2012 at 4:57 AM
Arts cad said...: Its look great.

vintage oil painting
vintage sculpture; June 22, 2012 at 10:24 AM

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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6.02.2012