Hold Out At the Farmer's Market ~ Potomac Artworks

11.06.2013

Hold Out At the Farmer's Market

"At the Farmer's Market" is my exhibit at the Workhouse Arts Center in the Building W-16 Gallery which runs from November 6 through December 1.

In addition to photography of five farmer's markets, it will feature my own booth, which will have pastel paintings of local sights, such as Hold Out, a deciduous tree well behind the colors of other foliage painted en plein air in the Appalachian Mountains in Woodstock, Virginia..

Hold Out

soft pastel on mounted Wallis Belgian Mist

8x10

On Second Saturday, November 9, 6-9PM, expect a great spread of farmer's market fare and plenty of Mason jars!

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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11.06.2013