Terri Gay
I was inspired by the Urban Sketchers' (https://urbansketchers.org/) online global community. So many artistic traditions intertwine in Urban Sketchers that felt familiar and exciting to me that I knew these people were my tribe. I had always sketched during my travels and adventures. Eventually I thought adding watercolor to my drawings would be the easy next step (ha)! It is portable so that's its best quality for plein air. I am inspired mostly by historical or maybe geographically exotic subjects because there's something mystical about absorbing the past or unusual while painting. I really don't do any studio painting since it doesn't feel as authentic as on-site does. It's about the experience more than the outcome.
Lois Griffel
I have been painting for over 60 years as I started drawing when I was 5 years old. I was ill, so my mother decided to entertain me by drawing a face, something that she never did before. As soon as she was finished, I took the pencil and pad out of her hands and drew a better portrait. I was hooked and was fortunate to have parents who nurtured my interest.
I paint with oils both in the field and in my studio. I find them very forgivable which allows me to correct color, value, and composition easily.
I am a landscape artist at heart, because color and light really inspires me. I am a retired quick sketch portrait artist, having done them for over 10 years. I still enjoy doing one as often as possible. I believe that painting in plein air enhances my ability to translate photos into paintings in my studio.
www.loisgriffel.com
lois.griffel@gmail.com
Studio visits always welcome.
Judith Johnson
Painting and drawing have been a part of my life for as long as I remember. I couldn’t wait to take art classes in high school. Those classes convinced me that I needed to major in Art in college.
In the spring of 1973, I graduated from Western Michigan University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. One professor often took us outside to paint and that began my love of painting on location. During my years of raising children, I belonged to a group of other artist mothers. We would hire a babysitter and meet at a location, paint, have lunch and talk about art. Those were precious times for me.
Before moving to Tucson, I painted primarily in watercolors when painting outdoors. The desert landscape and the flora convinced me to switch to oils. Family health concerns led me to use Water Miscible Oils. After attending the Plein Air Convention in Tucson, I found all kinds of equipment to make the transition easier. I also found people to paint with and eventually the Sonoran Plein Air Painters.
I love the mountains; they make me smile. The changing shadows, the way they effect the sky, the rhythm of the cliffs and canyons are a constant source of inspiration. I strive to capture the essence of my feelings about the view I have chosen to put to canvas. There is something about two hours of getting lost in the moment that keeps me coming back for more.
When it is rainy, too cold, too hot, I head to my studio. I usually do larger paintings inspired by Plein Air studies. The challenge is to keep the large work as fresh as the study. I also enjoy taking some studies that didn’t make the cut and play with changing composition or value or colors. I find it to be a good way to experiment before heading out to paint. For me, painting is one big experiment I never tire of.
Barbara Mulleneaux
I began my journey in early 2000’s. My first plein air painting was with the Tucson Plein Air Painters and I knew absolutely nothing. My first painting was at Rancho Vistoso and it was literally mush! But I liked being outdoors and being with a group of painters. I quickly became eager to learn. After some classes, workshops and LOTS of practice I gradually got better. There was a long break while I did ceramics, just keeping a hand in plein air until finally dedicating my creative time to painting in 2014.
I’m an oil painter, though I’ve explored other mediums. The buttery movement and color fastness give me immediate feedback. Because it is slower drying I can paint wet to wet and use subtractive techniques as well. I mostly paint alla prima and oil is a good medium for that.
My favorite subject to paint by far is the ever changing landscape of the Sonoran Desert. The colors and skies provide a tapestry- color, texture and design. But I enjoy outdoor still life subjects as well. Light on an object is so fanciful and I enjoy the back drop of natural elements. Finally, I love architectural paintings. It’s about design mostly- light, shadow, angles, juxtaposition - sometimes color… it is a different experience than landscape that I often crave!
Everything everywhere informs studio works. We bring all the tools to the easel in the studio! The plein air sketch provides a guide. It is my first impression of a scene— The feels, the smells the “why” I chose this subject. The composition can be altered for a better read. In the studio, the plein sketch (painting or drawing) provides important details, especially values. So many decisions go into creating a painting- the plein sketch is my saving Grace. Without it, I’m lost!
Julia Patterson
I did not go to art school but embarked on learning watercolor then pastel via the occasional workshop for many years. I discovered plein air painting about 15 years ago when I was an avid pastelist. Pastels and painting outdoors work so beautifully together, both so immediate and full of texture. I have since moved into acrylic and oils, both of which work well for outdoor painting.
When I moved back to Tucson in 2017, I speedily joined SPAP, so eager to explore the city and landscape I love in an artistic way. Plein air painting offers you a deep dive into your favorite subjects. Once you’ve painted something, you will never forget every contour, every shading, and every emotion you felt. Every detail and proportion is seared into your brain. Plein air painting is a deeply personal experience. Yet its product is shareable!
I am never as calm and focused and centered as I am during two hours of plein airing. And never am I so aware of the world around me, in every physical sense, as when I’m trying to capture that tree, that house, that mountain in that one perfect moment.
Perhaps this will become the new mindfulness exercise? Lifetime membership, please.
Russ Recchion
For many people Landscaping conjures up images of weeding, trimming hedges or planting bushes. But as a young student at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia when we said "Lets go landscaping," we meant "let's go paint nature." We didn't use the words plein air painting then, although that term was coined in 1800. The Pennsylvania Academy was where my love for plein air painting started. It played a significant role in my development as a professional artist. I was inspired by all of the Bucks County New Hope School landscape painters that I was exposed to. At the Academy, I won the prestigious Cadwalader Landscape Prize. My years of plein air painting helped me sharpen my skills as a figure and portrait artist as well. I learned to see and react quickly to the rapid changes of light, shadow and color.
One of my greatest pleasures is painting nature wherever I travel.
When I look at my paintings of Lake Como in Italy, a canal in Venice, a Pennsylvania farm, a vineyard in the hills of Tuscany or the mountains and desert around my home in Tucson, I'm flooded with memories of the light and the weather, the smells and the colors that were present when painting them.
A peace comes over me when I'm immersed in nature painting with no one around. I'm truly in God's country, feeling the presence of a higher being. It's like being all alone in a big magnificent cathedral.
Greg Wallace
I've been exploring art since high school. Studied and majored in Art/Art Education for 5 years at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
I moved to AZ in 1979 and have been 'arting' ever since. That journey has lead to several periods of plein air exploration, but not until 2016 did I experience a major shift over to working outdoors. Ever since, my studio work draws heavily on how I go about creating on location.
I prefer oil paints, mostly because I enjoy the extended alla prima capabilities, and also the muscle of paint texture. I just like the look of buttery wet paint. Watercolors are a second love, but I utilize the completely different transparent or granular transparent qualities when using it.
Figurative subjects started out as my early focus. Later, moving out West drew me to landscape, but I enjoy the challenge of all subjects. I can find inspiration in pretty much any arrangement that involves light and shadow.
At some point my studio efforts flipped over to being in support of my plein air work - a reversal that I have to admit I never really anticipated. When I do studio work now, I emulate my plein air process as much as possible. It's all become a quest to make interesting marks. The literal picture aspect is quite pliable now, leaving plenty of room for intuitive invention that still conveys a sense of place.