Artists in Abbotsford painted plein air during the Abbotsford BerryBeat Festival. Paintings were shown at the Bishop Casual Living Centre on Montrose in Abbotsford from July 8-22, 2007.
Plein Air is a term that means "in the open air", and is used to describe paintings done outdoors, rather than in a studio. To be considered "plein air" both painter and subject must be outdoors during which the artist is working directly from life, and observing the subject under natural light. Edouard Manet, the French Impressionist said " There is only one true thing: instantly paint what you see.
"The roots of plein air painting are in the 19th-century art movement called Impressionism that began as a loose association of Paris-based artists who sketched and painted outside, and began exhibiting their art publicly in the 1860s. The name Impressionism comes from the title of a painting by Claude Monet, Impression, Sunrise. Canadian artists, known as "The Group of Seven", were strongly influenced by European Impressionism. Painting plein air in an impressionist style has a strong Canadian tradition.
The following are characteristic of impressionist techniques and may be noticeable in the plein air paintings in this show:
* Short, thick strokes of paint are used to quickly capture the essence of the subject, rather than its details.
* Colors are applied side-by-side with as little mixing as possible, creating a vibrant surface. The optical mixing of colors occurs in the eye of the viewer.
* Grays and dark tones are made by mixing complimentary or opposite colors. Purists avoid using black.
* Wet paint is placed onto wet paint without waiting for it to dry, producing softer edges and an intermingling of color.
* Impressionist paintings do not use transparent glazes and is usually opaque.
* The play of natural light is emphasized with close attention made to the reflection of colors from one object to another object.
* In plein air paintings, shadows are painted using the blue of the sky as it reflects onto surfaces, giving the shadow a sense of freshness and openness .
You might think that painting plein air is pretty straight forward and perhaps a bit romantic and intimate---the artist alone interacting with the subject to be painted. However, there are more things going on than just the artist and what the artist is painting. I am sure that any artist who has ever attempted painting plein air has a lot of stories about their experiences. It might be the sudden downpour of rain on a nearly completed watercolour, or an oil painting blown over by a gust of wind, falling face down onto the sand, or suicidal bugs or flies that were determined to walk across a wet surface of paint.
Besides external factors, there are also things going on inside the artist. Every time we go out to paint, we are full of reasons why painting right this very minute isn't such a good idea –your family or friends who came with you on vacation are about to leave, it may rain at any moment, there's no comfortable place to sit... and on and on…. But the truly dedicated plien air artists will paint in all kinds of weather---there is a saying that "there is no bad weather for painting plein air; only bad painting clothes". As a plein air artist, you are challenged to stretch yourself, as you are constantly exposed – by design or by accident – to experiences and scenes you might never have predicted or planned. Working outdoors or from life puts you in direct contact with the life force, not just the light and the landscape, but also the vitality of the world around you.
For this show of "100 Views of Downtown Abbotsford" artists painted during the Abbotsford BerryBeat Festival. I was painting the Little Farmhouse restaurant on Montrose, and had many people stop to see me at work. Particularly memorable was a little girl who must have been around 5 years old. She came right up to me and looked at my painting and asked: "I like your painting, did you do it all by yourself?" I replied "yes, I did" and mentioned that it still wasn't finished. She looked at it again and said "I still like your painting even if it is not finished."
Although sometimes having people stop to talk can be a distraction from actually painting, I enjoyed her comments because I knew that I had been able to connect with her, and being able to touch others with my art is a big motivator for me to paint.
The little girl's comments, besides being a compliment to me, also reflected the fact that a plein air painting often does not look finished. Plein air painting done on location, particularly if impressionistic, captures the atmosphere of the moment, and different from a photograph, it is not detailed but often has a loose and flowing look. Looking closely, you will see only a mosaic of color and brushwork. However, at a distance the blobs of paint will seem like a window to another place and time.
I especially want to thank each of the artists for participating in this show and for having the courage and determination to face the challenges of painting plein air. As well, thank you to everyone who has come to see this show. I hope that you will take the time to look through the windows of another place and time, as displayed by the paintings in this show.
Presentations based on the "People's Choice Ballots" went to Rhys Edwards, Monica Friesen, Bente Hansen, Manjit Sandhu, Steven Chen, Pat Maertz, Helen Janas, Neil Loewen.
