Plein Air Festival

The French phrase "en plein air" means "in the open air" At the end of the 19th century this type of

outdoor painting was practically unheard of. Then along came English painter, John Constable. He 

was kind of a rebel in the art world deciding to forget formulas, find truth in nature and trust your own vision. He began to create sketches outdoors and then finished them into full sized paintings in his studio.

Our cottage is near an art school and every year they host a Plein Air Painting Festival. It is fascinating to watch these artists create small masterpieces of everyday flowers, houses and scenes using their oil paints.

This particular piece (above and below) is one of my favorites. He is painting a couple of old summer cottages, but what this photograph does not capture is the thick texture the artist has built up on the canvas using the oil paints. I've never been a fan of working with oils because I like instant gratification and oil paint takes so long to dry.  But watching these artists work makes me want to give it a try. Perhaps someday.

I was amazed at how close to each other some of the artists placed their easels. That was because  sometimes there was a favored subject more than one person wanted to paint, like this pair of old bicycles in back of this house.

Old and young alike participated - age doesn't make a difference when it comes to creating art.

When I arrived I parked my car near this artist, at which time her canvas only had a background of purple paint. When I returned to my car, she was finished and rushing off to get her painting turned in to the judges. You see, the contest this day was to create a plein air painting in under two hours! Can you imagine? Sounds like a fun challenge, but much too much pressure for me....especially with people looking over your shoulder why you work!

Letting Go

- Image by Jeanne Oliver - 

My head is filled with anticipation because this coming week I will be starting Jeanne Oliver's new art e-course entitled, "The Journey of Letting Go - Creating Beauty From Ashes." I'm not 100% sure what all it will entail, but I've taken all of Jeanne's e-courses and each one was worth every penny. If you think the class sounds intriguing, you can read more about it here or watch a video about it here. I hope you can join us in this four week adventure!

Morning Routine

I've been trying to walk at the mall on weekdays. I find I can get a more non-stop continuous walk in if I don't walk in my neighborhood where people stop and want to chat. I listen to talk-radio on my iPhone to catch up with the news while I walk. Afterwards I usually grab a cup of coffee and find a place to sit. I carry a small tablet of paper and pen with me so I can do some sketching. This routine seems to get my day off to a good start.

A Beautiful Way to Spend a Sunday

Yesterday I went to a wonderful art gallery to watch artist Tom Nachreiner demonstrate his plein air oil painting techniques. If you look closely, the canvas he is painting on is

upside down.

Above is the photograph he is painting from. Tom says that starting the background of his paintings upside down allows him to not get bogged down with the details of the photograph and concentrate only on the basic shapes.

Here is his painting (still a work in progress) shown right side up.

Part of the art gallery is located in the woods, which creates a beautiful natural backdrop for some of the sculptures.

Beautiful Inspiration

A friend sent these photos to me. These beautiful sculptures created by Bruno Torfs I am told are nestled amongst a rainforest setting in the village of Maryville in Australia. They are beautiful, whimsical and fascinating and the attention to detail is amazing!

What a talented artist . . . enjoy and be inspired!