Plein-Aire Painting
by M.J. Sullivan
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2005 issue of Northeast Georgia Living. It has been reprinted with permission.
Some artists paint in their studios using models, sketches, or photographs. Others prefer a more "open air" approach and have trained in a style known as "Plein-Aire."
The folks at www.galeriepleinaire.com define it like this: "Plein-Aire painters work on location to quickly capture the fleeting light effects that occur in nature. Typically the initial painting is completed on location in two or three hours before the light changes. The artist may return to the same location at the same time on another day to complete the work, or may make adjustments in the studio."
Northeast Georgia artist Libby Mathews explains the technique this way: "Plein-aire painting captures the essence of the feeling I have for a particular landscape. You begin to paint by being in the scene. You feel the wind, the sun, the mud on your shoes. You sense the energy of life with sweat, sunburn, and yes, even insects." Mathews, who lives on Lake Rabun in Lakemont, likes to paint large dramatic views of the lake as well as landscapes. To facilitate her work, Mathews has built a studio onto her home which is actually larger than her original 1918 cottage. The new studio boasts a 180-degree view of both sunrises and sunsets.
However, Mathews s not always been a Plein-Aire painter. She says she trained in college to be a printmaker, noting that she had mechanical aptitude and a natural gift for drawing. For the first two decades of her career, she worked for the Georgia Council for the Arts in its residency program. Then in 1990, after raising her family, she began painting. "I knew that I wanted to paint ever since I was 2 years old. I would see a beautiful painting and it would almost take my breath away. Somehow I never had the confidence that I could understand color. But one day I decided I was going to learn all I could about painting, so I began reading and taking classes."
And learn she did. Today Mathews' work is on display in Rabun County at Timpson Creek Gallery, in Atlanta at Bennett Street Gallery, and in Highlands, N.C., at Summit One Gallery.
Her favorite paintings deal mostly with landscapes. She has traveled to Mexico and Italy to capture the radiant light and open terrains. "I loved painting in Italy. The light was so expansive. One day when we were there, they had just plowed the fields and the light made everything look like it had been washed in gold."
According to Mathews, there is nothing new about Plein-Are painting. The French impressionists began using this style in the middle of the 19th Century. "The impressionists wanted to capture the feeling of the moment," says Matthews. "Monet, for example, would take multiple canvasses and start a new one about every 20 minutes throughout the day. He painted fast and vigorously to try and capture the feeling. Many people didn't like the rough texture of the finished painting." But of course, that has changed, and this "in the moment" style is seeing a resurgence in the Plein-Aire movement.
Mathews, who has taught classes at the Hambidge Center in Rabun County, also teaches workshops in Atlanta. She says what she likes to do is teach her students to really train the eye to see all of the subtle values of color that may be in any particular scene. "Because the eye yearns to see shades, you need to watch for the subtle shadesof each color. Is it a spring green (warm), or a shadowy green (cool)? I even challenge my students to find the pink in a haystack!"
Mathews, who is highly allergic to bee stings, will not be deterred from her Plein-Aire excursions. She says she just travels with her bee sting kit and instructs accompanying artists on how to use an epi-pen. You can't get closer to the reality of nature than that.