Vatican Illuminated ~ Potomac Artworks

7.02.2012

Vatican Illuminated

Preliminary Studies - pencil : pastel pencil : watercolor

Vatican Illuminated
soft pastel on Pastelbord, watercolor underpainting
11x14

4 comments:

Maria Bennett Hock said...: I love seeing the preliminary sketches and the colors in the finished piece are wonderful.; July 2, 2012 at 2:07 AM
Bonnie said...: Thanks, Maria. I chose a blue underpainting b/c of the orange of the buildings. Is a bonus to leave some left exposed in the painting.

Appreciate very much that you went and brought others to the show.; July 2, 2012 at 5:10 AM
sarah said...: love the prelim sketches and the final work is beautiful!; July 17, 2012 at 7:47 PM
Sarika Barua said...: Vatican painted like this never before...I am falling in love with ur art work Bonnie...carry on the good work.; July 19, 2012 at 12:15 PM

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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7.02.2012