My name is Tom Mulliner. I am an artist living in the Colchester area of the UK, often referred to as 'Constable Country'. Not five miles from where I live, John Constable painted many of his landscapes that are known to many around the world. His most famous being 'The Hay Wain' on display in London's National Gallery, Trafalgar Square (pictured below).
Apart from an introduction, the first posts here will be some influential plein air and landscape artists from around the world.
A brief history of plein air from Wikipedia: "En plein air (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃ plɛn ɛʁ]) is a French expression which means "in the open air," and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors, which is also called peinture sur le motif ("painting on the ground") in French. It can also be used to describe other activities where the person partakes in an outdoor environment. Artists have long painted outdoors, but in the mid-19th century working in natural light became particularly important to the Barbizon school and Impressionism. The popularity of painting en plein air increased in the 1870s with the introduction of paints in tubes (resembling modern toothpaste tubes). Previously, each painter made their own paints by grinding and mixing dry pigment powders with linseed oil. The Newlyn School in England is considered another major proponent of the technique in the latter 19th century.
It was during this period that the "Box Easel", typically known as the French Box Easel or field easel, was invented. It is uncertain who developed it first, but these highly portable easels, with telescopic legs and built-in paint box and palette, made treks into the forest and up the hillsides less onerous. Still made today, they remain a popular choice even for home use since they fold up to the size of a brief case and thus are easy to store.
Photo from linesandcolors.com
French Impressionist painters such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir advocated en plein air painting, and much of their work was done outdoors, in the diffuse light provided by a large white umbrella. In the second half of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century in Russia, painters such as Vasily Polenov, Isaac Levitan, Valentin Serov, Konstantin Korovin and I. E. Grabar were known for painting en plein air. American Impressionists, too, such as those of the Old Lyme school, were avid painters en plein air. American Impressionist painters noted for this style during this era included, Guy Rose, Robert William Wood, Mary Denil Morgan, John Gamble, and Arthur Hill Gilbert. The Canadian Group of Seven and Tom Thomson are examples of en plein air advocates.
Bird Sacntuary by Scott Christensen
The popularity of outdoor painting has endured throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century"
And here WE are!
The Colchester Plein Air Painters Society(UK)will meet several times during the year in order to paint 'en plein air' together in pre-scouted locations in and around a 20 mile radius of Colchester, Essex. Dates and places will be posted here on this blog and on the Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/colchesterpaps), all are welcome to attend; beginners wanting to learn and established artists wanting a nice day out.
Although, plein air painting is traditionally for painters using oils or watercolours, soft pastels are commonly used too. Tuition, advice and guidance can be happily provided, if wanted from either myself or any other artists in attendance.
Equipment, refreshment and transportation is up to the individual. Sessions will be starting in the early spring (March/April) depending upon the weather forecast for the day. This, being England, means that the session may be cancelled at very short notice.
A small number of the painting sessions will be free of charge initially, and as the Society matures, there will be a very small annual free for full membership which will include lectures, workshops, all painting sessions and outings to gallery exhibitions.
I very much look forward to meeting you for our very first 'en plein air' excursion. And hope that there will be many more to follow.
