WORKING
FAST
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For
me, the goal of painting en plein air is to capture a specific moment
of light and atmosphere—qualities that are, of course, constantly
changing. In order to paint such fleeting effects convincingly, I
have found that I must paint quickly. In fact, the faster I can work,
the better.
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STORM
OVER HASS HILL
Oil /linen/board 8¾
x 14
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Working fast forces
me to rely on instinct and impulse. If I paint at a more leisurely
pace, my mind and eyes inevitably wander from the essential elements
of the scene; they become distracted by extraneous details or changes
in the lighting conditions. I begin to analyze and visually explore
the place, and, in the process of reassessing and restating, my clean
colors and direct brushwork often become muddied and weak.
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Some years ago,
in order to hone my skills and increase my speed, I devised an exercise
for myself: I would attempt to finish a landscape painting within
the hour during which my son had his weekly fencing lesson at the
Gristmill Fencing Club. Each week I would race the clock: drop him
off, rush to the site, set up and paint, clean up, and race back to
get him—all within that very short hour. During the dead of
winter, I was racing the setting sun, as well as the clock.
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GRISTMILL
AFTERNOON
Oil
/linen/board 7 x 10
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NOVEMBER EVE, GRISTMILL
Oil /linen/board 7 x 10
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RAINY DAY, GRISTMILL DAM
Oil /linen/board 8 x 10
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Some
of the small studies (or pochades) that I whipped off during those
one-hour fencing lessons rank still among my most successful field
paintings. I believe they represent plein air landscape painting in
its purest form
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