Innholdsfortegnelse for Oct/Nov 2017 i PleinAir Magazine

Ben Benn (1884-1983) Given his interest in modern art forms like Cubism and Abstract Expressionism, it is a bit surprising that Ben Benn would paint an artist at work outdoors on the depiction of a nude model. Nevertheless, that’s exactly what he did with this imaginary scene, painted when the artist was 84 years old. It raises the question of whether Benn was watching another painter or remembering himself as a younger and more virile man who enjoyed painting nude models. Benn was a pioneering American modernist who never completely abandoned recognizable subject matter, even while he was being strongly influenced by abstract painting movements. His oil paintings were never completely non-objective during decades when there was a strong prejudice against any form of representation. Despite his independence, the artist…

Yogi Berra famously declared, “Baseball is 90 percent mental, and the other half is physical.” As humorous and illogical as that suggested balance might seem, it does emphasize the point that attitude is often more important to physical activities than training or innate skill. That is certainly true with painting, and it is absolutely the case when artists confront the demands of plein air painting. An artist’s education, professional experience, awards, and collections are much less important to jurors and collectors than the finished paintings delivered to the festival exhibition. Greg Scheibel’s enviable record of success as an artist is testimony to the importance of attitude. For years, he ran a drywall installation business and spent long days working on construction projects in Southwest Montana. “From childhood, I harbored a…

The paintings of Philip Alexander Carlton show excellent drawing skills and plenty of technique, but the Twin Cities artist is the first to call his painting process “unorthodox.” He isn’t just talking about his paint application. Carlton wishes to connect his art with anyone who sees it — not just connoisseurs. Part of his method for involving an audience generally not concerned with visual art is through the use of humor. “I can’t say I know exactly what I’m looking for when I go out to paint,” says Carlton. “What inspires me may not be appealing for visual reasons. Yes, I’m drawn to a unique composition with a good range of values. I like deep shadows and monstrous highlights. I love staring into the sun and getting bright highlights off…

In describing his approach to plein air watercolor painting, Ken Karlic says he “paints with a sense of urgency and passion that is more about capturing the essence of subjects than the specifics of the location.” That self-imposed pressure makes him an ideal participant in the plein air festivals, where there are time and subject limitations imposed by the event organizers. “I love plein air events in which there are expectations but they still allow me to become immersed in painting for a week,” the artist says. “I feel an adrenaline rush, lots of inspiration, encouraging support from residents and collectors, and a reassuring exchange with other artists. When I return home, I find it hard to slow down.” The excitement Karlic expresses wasn’t always part of his plein air…

Although lesser known today, Norwegian artists contributed greatly to the genre of landscape painting during the 19th century. Johan Christian Dahl (1788-1857) set out to discover his remote homeland, and together with his pupils he infused the Nordic fjords, mountains, and rivers with the established repertoire of romantic motifs — rocky inlets, misty hills, and contemplating wanderers. Peder Balke (1802-1887) produced highly dramatic seascapes that foreshadow, with their radically simplified style, the abstraction of Modern art, while another of Dahl’s pupils, Thomas Fearnley (1802-1842), painted powerful scenes distinguished by sensitive effects of light. Landscape painting during the Romantic era was fueled by the concept of the sublime — renewed reverence for nature and its influence on emotion and the imagination. Combining the direct study of nature (through open-air oil studies)…

Crisp and formerly colorful fall leaves are crunching under my feet as I walk on the edge of an old Russian village. Two grayhaired ladies are staring at me suspiciously and murmuring in a language I can’t even begin to understand. They are dressed just like something out of the movies — scarves over their heads, worn shoes with holes, and faded old dresses covered by colorful aprons. Curious, they wonder what this stranger is about to do as I pull my tripod out of my torn and worn old backpack. The golden afternoon sun is glowing and casting orange light on the sides of an old red clapboard house, one of many houses painted in vibrant colors in this little country village. These decorative old Russian dachas are vibrating…

Oil painter Linda Apriletti splits her time between the mountains of North Carolina and the palm-dotted flatlands of South Florida. But one thing remains constant: her push to bring some of the experience she had while painting en plein air into each piece. To do so, she utilizes an unusual device — the video feature on her camera. “When I’m painting in the field, I will video clouds coming in and play that before doing a studio painting based on my plein air work,” Apriletti says. “The video reminds me of the wind, of the wind sound, and that connects me to that experience of where I was painting. While I’m on location, I am not thinking about anything else. If I can bring some of what happened in the…

One of the nation’s premier painting events, Plein Air Easton, brought another fantastic week of camaraderie, warm weather, and stacks of brilliant paintings. Both established and up-and-coming names filled the winners’ list as nearly 60 world-class artists from around the country descended on Talbot County to compete for over $30,000 in cash prizes. A stunning acrylic painting by Joseph Gyurcsak, titled Garage Port Glory, was the big Grand Prize winner this year, earning the artist a $5,000 cash prize and a half-page ad in Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. Tim Kelly — a name you’ll be seeing a lot — was the winner of the coveted Artists’ Choice award for his painting The Queen of Easton; that award came with a $6,650 cash prize and a half-page ad in PleinAir. Hai-Ou…

The Floyd (VA) Center for the Arts hosted the second annual plein air festival with the support of Apple Ridge Farm, Chateau Morrissette Winery, and the Riverstone Organic Farm. Twenty-five artists participated in the nocturnal painting event atF loyd’s Friday Night Jamboree & Artisan Market, then enjoyed a farm-to-table dinner at Riverstone. The gala exhibition and sale took place at the Floyd Center for the Arts and a quick draw competition was held at the winery.…

“The painting was created at Tilden Park in Orinda, California, near where Huihan Liu and I live,” explains California artist Ernesto Nemesio. “Huihan likes to get together with a group of local artists to enjoy each other’s company while inspiring each other to paint on location.” Nemesio is a mentor member of the California Art Club and is currently working full-time at Pixar Animation Studios. Huihan Liu, who trained in China from 1972 to 1975 at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art, graduated with a Bachelor’s degree and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Academy of Art College of San Francisco in 1989.…

I was asked by the travel editor of a national publication to identify the top 10 painting locations favored by plein air artists. I immediately asked my friends on Facebook what their choices would include, and I received hundreds of recommendations. I also heard from artists who objected to the very idea that the selection of popular painting locations was relevant to the creation of art. Artist Stuart Shils wrote, “Not only is there no answer to [the] question, but the question itself totally misses the point that those places are wherever an artist happen to be standing.” I weighed all that advice and decided 1) the article would bring national attention to plein air painting and to the 10 artists whose paintings would be reproduced; and 2) announcing my…

It’s a rookie mistake to end up with a pastel painting that is unintentionally garish, but it’s an understandable one. One of the prime attractions of painting is playing with beautiful, vibrant color. And pastels offer — even encourage — the chance to pick up a bright yellow stick and put down a mark. But students of pastel soon learn that the strength of a good pastel painting is in its subtle passages and overall structure. Jane McGraw-Teubner’s Ramsdam Bridge, AM is a good example of how to do it right. The viewer’s eye is immediately struck by the rising sun reflecting in the water, and the backlit bush. But without the strong supporting cast, these highlights would not be nearly as powerful. McGraw-Teubner placed the highlights on the backlit…

Anyone who thinks watercolor paintings are less important or valuable than oils should take note of the fact that Mat Barber Kennedy’s 12 x 30-inch quickdraw watercolor painting sold for $4,400 at a live auction during the most recent Door County Plein Air Festival in Wisconsin. That was more than any of the oil paintings fetched, and it may be a record price for the annual event. “I’m not normally one to toot my own horn, but I think the record sale is good news for plein air painters in general and non-oil painters in particular,” the artist says. “I think every artist can appreciate the fact that bidders saw my painting as a work of art that happened to be created with transparent watercolors. The value was neither enhanced…

John A. Varriano is a representational painter. His grasp of human anatomy is at a level where the Art Students League of New York has secured him to teach figure drawing. But depicting what is in front of him no longer satisfies Varriano. He seeks more. “That’s the biggest challenge of all,” says Varriano. “How do you go from reporting, to expressing, to creating something that transcends the thing that you are painting? One way is to focus on how the light washes over the entire landscape. Plein air landscapes are fun to paint, but how does one paint the pieces so they disappear into one expressive feeling of the landscape? Through the depiction of light. “That is one of the reasons why painters like the early or late light…

The Door County Plein Air Festival, held on the shores of Lake Michigan, has gained national renown. The 2017 edition saw 35 talented painters from across the country compete for a range of prizes before thousands of attendees. Participating this year were Gil Adams, Olena Babak, Mitch Baird, Suzie Baker, Beth Bathe, Carl Bretzke, M. Shawn Cornell, Aimee Erickson, Andy Evansen, Bill Farnsworth, Nyle Fordon, Debra Groesser, Stephanie Hartshorn, Neal Hughes, Jane Hunt, Eric Jacobsen, Barbara Jaenicke, Ken Karlic, Shelby Keefe, Mat Barber Kennedy, Tory Kilgore, Allen Kriegshauser, Andre Lucero, Liz Maltman, Kyle Martin, Jeffrey Marrill, Tom Nachreiner, Kathie Odom, John Poon, Henryk Ptasiewicz, Brian Sindler, Steve Stauffer, R. Gregory Summers, Bill Suys, Nancy Tankersley, Kathie Wheeler, and Vladislav Yeliseyev. Best of Show honors this year went to Andy Evansen for his…

Although I always loved painting outdoors, my plein air painting lagged far behind the authenticity of my studio work. On a good day, I could achieve an imitation of a good painting — but an absence of genuineness dogged my efforts. Even if others overlooked my plein air inadequacies, I knew I was faking it. I was using studio techniques in the field without fully immersing myself in the observational process necessary to discovering nature’s subtleties. I was capturing the form of the landscape, but not the essence. I wondered if I could ever paint with full confidence in the field. Over a decade ago, I attended a prestigious artists’ residency where at the end of the day my host asked to see my field paintings. I was embarrassed they…