Cassino, once not a "Safe Passage" ~ Potomac Artworks

2.06.2014

Cassino, once not a "Safe Passage"

Cassino, Italy might look like a tranquil "Safe Passage," but during WWII, Cassino was the location of intense aerial bombing raids and high German and Allied casualty rates. Over time, it and its namesake, Abbey Montecassino, rebounded into the picturesque passage painted here.

Cassino
soft pastel on Richeson board
5x7

See this and more "Safe Passage" images of Italy at the Arts Club of Washington in February with the opening February 7 from 6-9PM.

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The Charm of en Plein Air

Much of my work is done en plein air, French for "in the open air." People often associate it with the Impressionists, but the move to paint outside preceded them by a number of decades. The trend to appreciate landscapes as a genre at all was new for the time.

Several characteristics contribute to the distinctive beauty of en plein air painting. They are generally smaller in size in order to be able to capture a scene in a single sitting. Because of the time limit and environmental factors such as the sun and shadows moving, they often lack extensive details and might appear slightly fuzzy or unfinished. Lastly, they tend to have a freshness and spontaneity which makes them impossible to compare to traditional and methodological studio work. That said, my own studio work tends toward the same feel as en plein air, which then identifies my overall style: softness with an edge.

My aim when painting en plein air is for alla prima paintings, which roughly translates for me as "what happens outside, stays outside." It adds another level of difficulty to the work.

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2.06.2014