My Garden Steps
pastel, 12 x 16"
I have always loved these rock steps beside my back garden. This piece was executed with quick energetic strokes and in that abbreviated vignette style!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Painting On Location
at 2010 Peninsula Art League's Open Exhibition
Every Thursday from May through the first of September I paint on location with a group of artists from Olympia Art League. Several of the artists have painted together for years and new artists join us each year with a combination of excitement and nervousness. The seasoned artists are all kind and welcoming and it doesn't take long for the newcomer to feel at home. But painting on location takes some time to adapt to. The first attempts to capture the scene before you can be extremely frustrating. But as the old adage states, the more you practice the more you improve. The critiques at the end of each session help the artists to assess their works strengths and weaknesses and we all go home with ideas to try next week. There is discipline in painting "plein air". Pushing yourself to get out there, no matter the wind, cold, heat or humidity. But the rewards are great. We are invited to beautiful private gardens, and magnificent landscapes, and our skills improve over time. Paintings on location tend to be quick studies, with fresh nuances of color that you cannot capture from photographs.
"Plein Air" is a pastel painting, 18 x 24", painted in the studio following one of our garden visits. The artist is one of the faithful members of our group, Karen. Can you feel how she is absorbed in the moment, surrounded by the gardener's artistry.
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