Pastel Plein Air Studies
by James Few
Chasing The Light
Plein air, a French word, literally translates as 'open air', and is defined as painting or drawing done outside, in the open air. The equivalent term in Italian would be alfresco. These works were taken directly from nature, and infused with a feeling of the open air. A relatively recent practice, painting outdoors became an important dimension of the landscape work of the Impressionists and painters of the Barbizon school. Although plein air painting should not be considered as synonymous with Impressionism or quick sketching, it became central to Impressionism.
Where I was painting on the morning of 9/11
In a meadow north of Williamsburg MA, where I was doing this study....
The driver of a road grader stopped to tell me about the World Trade Center.
White House
9/11/2001
pastel study 9 x 10
I did the only thing I could do: I kept painting until the light changed.
(Plein Air - continued) The term is largely associated with the Impressionist artists of the late 1800s, a time when artists began to paint subject matter not normally seen: real people doing real, everyday things (genre paintings), and they came out of their studios into the open air to create their works. Impressionist artists were particularly interested in the influence of changing light outdoors on color. The popularity of plein air painting was aided by the development of easily portable painting equipment and materials, including paints sold in tubes.
In the same meadow, looking further to the right:
Red Roof
pastel study 13-1/2 x 12
(Plein air - continued) Painting from life is a pursuit unlike any other painting technique. It challenges artists to concentrate completely on the information in front of them. Their senses absorb it all, from sight to sound, from temperature to atmosphere, and then channel these feelings into their vision in paint on paper or canvas. The roots of painting from life are found in 19th century Europe. In England, John Constable believed the artist should forget about formulas and trust his own vision in finding truth in nature. To find that 'truth', he made sketches outdoors, and then elaborated upon them in his studio. In France, at about the same time, in a small village called Barbizon, outside Paris, a group of artists focused their attentions on peasant life and the natural world surrounding it. Like Constable, Francois Millet and Gustave Courbet challenged conventions of their day, choosing everyday people and objects as their subjects.
This is the same white house from another view
A White House
Pastel study, 7.5 x 8.5
(Plein Air - continued) These realists, as they came to be called, laid the groundwork for the mid-19th century revolution in France that took painting from life to its next development. Led by Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Edouard Degas, Auguste Renoir, and others, the Impressionists espoused the belief that you should trust your eyes. To prove their theories, they took their paint tubes and easels outdoors, where they re-created the world as colors which suggested light.
Looking further to the left from the same vantage point of the above study:
Sun Flower Garden
pastel study 6.5 x 7.5
(Plein Air - continued) Painting en plein air would forever change how we see the world. Artists in the United States were attracted to the concept, and many, like Californian Guy Rose, traveled to France to study with Monet. Suddenly, places with remarkable light were of particular interest to painters, on both the East and West coasts, as well as the American Southwest. In many of these areas painting colonies were formed.
Snow Farm
Williamsburg, MA
Smithy Road-1
pastel study 7.5 x 8
Smithy Road-2
pastel study 9 x 8
(plein air - continued) The goal of teachers and students alike was to capture the light and colors peculiar to these particular locales. Winslow Homer, Childe Hassam, and Thomas Hill are just a few of countless American artists well regarded for their plein air works.
The following studies were done at locations in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.
Pingree Creek
pastel study 8 x 8
Shades of Green
pastel study 6.5 x 8
Timberon Springs 1
pastel study 5 x 7
Timberon Springs 2
pastel study 5 x 7
Pingree Glen 2
pastel study 7-1/2 x 10
Sedona Vortex 3
pastel study 6-1/2 x 7
AZ Hillside
pastel sketch 6-1/2 x 7
AZ Shack
pastel sketch 6-1/2 x 7
BONUS
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PLEIN AIR PANTING TIPS
by
WILLIAM SCOTT JENNINGS
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