En Plein Air or The Studio Linwood Gardens NY
Aug 12: The day was perfect ~ 35 min from Rochester NY
location Linwood Gardens NY
You would have loved being at Linwood Gardens east of Rochester NY past farms and rolling meadows. You would have spent hours in the Arts and Craft Style great room overlooking the most stunning field that reaches out for miles. When you're there, you want to draw, hum, relax, write or paint paintings. It's the perfect place to get together in the name of ART.
10 of us engaged in a discussion regarding the differences between En Plein Air painting and painting in the studio. Would you have agreed that Plein Air is not for everyone? We did!
These are some of the comparisons we talked about,
• For inspiration, Plein Air has an immediate connection to being inspired to paint because there's so much nature all around. It's a heightened emotional and sensory experience while painting a painting. "Wow this is inspiring! "
• Everything is right in front of us for Plein Air and sometimes it can be overwhelming.
• In the Studio, inspiration needs to be sought out, for example, researching imagery, using photos or poetry, or glancing at copies of famous paintings. We usually think, What do I paint?
• The light and color in the landscape changes during En Plein Air. In the studio we have more control of the environment .
• Insects, sounds, wind, the sunshine, and all the outside elements are with us during Plein Air work. In the studio, we might have music on while we paint or a fan on to help control the environment's temperature.
• There are distractions in both En Plein Air and Studio work, but usually En Plain Air demands that we stay focused and finish before the sun sets.
In the studio we often drift to other things that need to be done and feel we have plenty of time.
We all agreed that we felt engaged in both painting environments.
If you were there you could have strolled the property at Linwood to find the perfect view, set up your temporary outdoor studio and pass the day with colors and the landscape. It was perfect!
Many thanks to Linwood Gardens and all the Linwood Painters. Next time maybe you would like to join us.
~ Angela
Learn More about Museums : The Uffizzi Florence Italy
En plein air
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
En plein air (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃ plɛn ɛːʁ], French for outdoors, or plein air painting) is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look.
Wikipedia :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/En_plein_air
plein-air
[pleyn-air; French ple-ner]ExamplesWord Origin
1890–95; < French: literally, full air
[pleyn-air; French ple-neradjective
- pertaining to a manner or style of painting developed chiefly in France in the mid-19th century,characterized by the representation of the luminous effects of natural light and atmosphere as contrasted with the artificial light and absence of the sense of air or atmosphere associated withpaintings produced in the studio.
~ dictionary.com
Figure drawing over time
FIGURE DRAWINGS for Centuries & WOMEN in the ARTS,
Another term for figure drawing is drawing from life. It has been taught in many academies and is a part of fine art school's academic studies, such as the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Artists & students draw from a live model in front of them, often nude, to be able to study more closely human form. It is one of the best ways for artists to deepen a study regarding line shape and form. It requires a keen sensibility toward fluid line, total variations, and measurements. It is considered a classical method and has been a tradition that is hundreds, even thousands of years old.
Of course my most favorite period is that of the Italian Renaissance: also known as the The Golden Age of Drawing. The Renaissance era (c.1400-1600)
During this historical period paper became more available for drawing, and drawing became it's own art form. Collections of drawings on paper became very special to Leopold de Medici. I read that Leopold Medici had accumulated 12,000 drawings by 1689. I can't be sure how many drawings in his collection were of the figure, but it would be easy to assume most were from artists; Leonardi Da Vinci, Michealangelo and Raphael, three of the most famous artists of the Renaissance.
Who was Leopold de Medici ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopoldo_de%27_Medici
I have always been interested in what role woman in the Arts played over the years.
I love this photo above that I found on the web and unfortunately I can't credit it. We see depicted in it, female artists drawing from life. I am going to unprofessionally date it around 1920- 1930's.
Woman Artists have played a role in the Arts as Painters & Sculptors over many many years. One female sculptor, in particular is Camille Claudel. She was an assistant to Auguste Rodin starting in 1884. She was first his model and later became a sculptor who went unrecognized for many years. She actually was responsible for sculpting some of Rodin's famous sculptures. There is a movie that depicts her life during the late 1800's, called Camille Claudel (film1988) Here you can see the trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KdpaQVkGjQ..... She is known for such sculptures as The Waltz, The Mature Age . You can read about her life in the book by Anne Delbee, translated by Carol Cosman entitled "Camille Claudel Un Femme"