"At the Farmer's Market" at the Workhouse Nov 6-Dec1! ~ Potomac Artworks

10.03.2013

"At the Farmer's Market" at the Workhouse Nov 6-Dec1!

At the Farmer's Market

November 6 - December 1, 2013

Workhouse Arts Center, Building W-16 Gallery, 9601 Ox Road, Lorton, Virginia 22079

Gallery hours: Wed – Sat 11am – 6pm and Sun 12 – 5pm

Free Reception: Saturday, November 9 6-9pm

Metallic ink photographs and photo canvases tell the yearlong story of artist and photographer, Bonnie Ferguson Butler, as she visited five farmer's markets in three states: New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. In addition to images of food and farmers, the photographs offer glimpses into the effects of multiculturalism, seasons and regional personalities. For her own booth, soft pastel paintings and miniatures become Butler's own vendor space at her farmer's market.

Like her previous exhibits, this series demonstrates Butler's love of travel and curiosity about how locations influence art. A Missouri native raised in South Carolina, Butler joined the Workhouse in 2009 and enjoys regular exhibits in Gallery 902, while she is November's featured artist in Building W-16. A published biochemist, her art training began with a required liberal arts class outside her science majors; she has pursued classes and workshops since. She is founder and president of the Pastel Society of Virginia.

Quotes:

Attributed to Daniel Webster, Statesman:

"Let us not forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man. When tillage begins, other arts will follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization."

Attributed to Bonnie Ferguson Butler, Workhouse Featured Artist:

"Much like farmers, artists are people of the earth, cultivating meager elements into sumptuous results."

Bonnie Ferguson Butler Website: http://artists.workhousearts.org/bonniefergusonbutler

Bonnie Ferguson Butler Blog: http://bfbutler.blogspot.com

Citation: Bonnie Ferguson Butler, Muted Sunshine, 2013, photograph on canvas, 24x34

See many more images here: http://tinyurl.com/ButlerFarmersMarket

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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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10.03.2013