Alla Prima Demonstration by Larry Seiler

Dana Hooper

Dana Hooper is one of the Bay Area's outstanding plein-air artists whose exuberant and colorful style represents all the freshness and spontaneity of working outdoors, directly from a subject.

"I paint outdoors in a style that is spontaneous and expressive. The motifs are colorist, intimate views of timeless subjects: animals, figures, rustic structures and landscapes. In my paintings there is often an idiosyncratic element, unexpected details or perspective - the picture may not be logical but it reads right. The paint surface is both thick and thin; the brushwork and palette knife strokes are deliberately visible and sometimes have a rough or unfinished look. Everything reminds you that this is a painting, a fusion of form, color and texture." – Dana Hooper

"Dana is a strong example of the modern return to plein air painting. Her work is spontaneous and expressive with a striking use of color. She paints intimate views of rural subjects--buildings, animals, landscapes--in a way that portrays their "innocence" and her love of them. I like a sentence she once said to me: 'My works are an escape from gentrification and technology, a respect for the simple.' There's a freedom to her brush strokes and I agree with a prominent collector who once told me: 'She's not derivative. She takes the California School (of figurative painting) in a new direction. It's a signature type of work.'" - Bud Johns

http://www.danahooper.com/

Book Review – Backpacker Painting – Outdoors with Oil & Pastel by Michael Chesley Johnson PSA MPAC

Michael Chesley Johnson knows how to pack a lot into a small package – whether it’s his painting gear or a 5” x 7” landscape painting. Being a master of the essential is no mean feat. Michael Chesley Johnson’s latest book, Backpacker Painting will reward the attentive reader with a wealth of outdoor painting know-how for a no-nonsense, no-frills approach to outdoor painting in every season, day and night. 164 pages, 8 ½” x 11”, 12 demonstrations, 72 paintings, 125 illustrations. Paperback $45.00 plus shipping or download $20. To order visit www.michaelchesleyjohnson.com/html/book.htm.

Winston Churchill - Plein Air Painter

When Winston Churchill, during World War I, took the fall for the Gallipoli fiasco and resigned his post as the youngest ever First Lord of the Admiralty, he went to the trenches in France in 1915 and took a paint box with him. Thus began his painting career at age 40. Over the next 40+ years he painted over 500 very creditable paintings. Among his memorable quotes on the subject of painting is “When I get to heaven I mean to spend a considerable portion of my first million years in painting.”

Recognized for his “bold and joyous brush”, he quickly transcended amateur status and became an accomplished painter. He frequently painted large format plein air paintings as a break from his stressful life. His compelling essay “Painting as a Pastime,” in which he extols the contemplative virtues of painting for the overworked, is a classic. He is reputed to have entered art exhibits of some note anonymously and taken prizes.

An extensive collection of his work is to be found at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, where he gave his famous “Iron Curtain” speech in 1946. A visit to the Churchill museum at Westminster College will be rewarded by the additional bonus of a fully restored Christopher Wren church moved from London after the war.

– Carl Judson

Michael Chesley Johnson

Michael is a Master Pastellist of Pastel Artists Canada, a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America and the Pastel Society of New Mexico, as well as a juried member of Oil Painters of America and other prestigious groups. His award-winning work has been in shows in both the US and Canada and has been published in The Artist's Magazine, The Pastel Journal, American Artist and Fine Art Connoisseur (Formerly Plein Air Magazine).

Primarily self-instructed, Michael has studied under master artists such as Albert Handell, Doug Dawson, Bob Rohm, Ann Templeton and Ray Roberts. Michael is noted for his strong sense of color, his use of expressive strokes and his ability to capture the mood of the landscape simply.

Michael teaches throughout North America and also conducts intensive workshops at Friar's Bay Studio Gallery on Campobello Island in the Canadian Maritimes. All students, from beginner to professional artists, praise his relaxed but helpful manner of teaching.

"One way I have of connecting with the landscape is to go out into it and paint. Although I have a studio, I always prefer to paint outdoors. Painting outdoors is both a creative act and a meditative one. It ends up being a much richer experience than painting in the studio from photographs. First of all, there are the elements to contend with -- the wind that wants to knock over the easel, the sun that moves and changes shadow shapes, the temperature which is never ideal. I'm told this battle builds character. But then there are the things that I do not fight but embrace -- the warm sun if it is a cool day, the cool shade if it is a hot day, the song of the birds, the sound of the breeze in the treetops. And of course, there is the beauty of the landscape before me. I will always be an outdoor painter of landscapes."
-- Michael Chesley Johnson

http://www.michaelchesleyjohnson.com/

Below is a plein air painting demonstration by Michael.

Painting with Oils on Birch and Mahogany Panels

For really striking, traditional results, prime mahogany and birch panels with one or two coats of clear primer like Gamblin Galkyd or linseed oil (The Galkyd will dry in a few days, while linseed oil can take weeks or even months).

Winslow Homer and other painters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries let the dark, varnished mahogany surface show through to add interest and unify the painting.

The light color of birch allows you to use the color of the varnished wood for highlights to great effect. In this painting, Stopped For Adjustments, the road in the foreground and the highlights on the mountains were achieved by lightly wiping away the paint with a rag.

Plein Air Painters of America

"Plein-air painting has to do with putting your soul on show," says founder Denise Burns. Ask her why she organized the Plein-Air Painters of America, and she characteristically adds a tidbit of humor: "We were eating bugs, too," she says, pointing out that in the mid-1980s New Mexico's on-location painters were getting attention in the press, but those in California were only beginning to see their names in print.

It was an era when early California impressionism was just beginning to be documented by scholars. In 1982 Ruth Westphal published the resource book Plein-Air Painters of California The Southland, followed four years later by The Northland. Major collections were being built, and prices for historic paintings were rising. Burns, who was president of the Catalina Art Association at the time, felt the moment had arrived to educate collectors about contemporary artists pursuing the art of painting from life.

With the encouragement of her friend and Catalina neighbor, art collector Roy Rose (grand nephew of California impressionist Guy Rose) Burns handpicked 20 artists to participate in the First Annual Plein-Air Painters Festival, October 30-November 2, 1986. The concept was to come to Catalina Island, as did so many early California Impressionists, paint outdoors for a week, then sell the paintings in a Saturday evening exhibition.

That format continued with minor variations through 2003, when the last PAPA-sanctioned exhibition and sale took place on Catalina Island. Today, PAPA exhibitions and sales are held from coast to coast. Recent exhibitions have been held in such prestigious venues as The Haggin Museum, Stockton, California, and the Academy Art Museum, Easton, Maryland.

http://www.p-a-p-a.com/

Sonoma Plein Air

Sonoma Plein Air is a week long event celebrating the century-old technique of outdoor painting. The Sonoma Plein Air event raises funds to support art education programs for children in Sonoma Valley.

The Sonoma Plein Air Foundation, a non-profit all volunteer organization, presents this annual event that is designed to be casual, interactive and educational.

This juried event brings nationally recognized plein air artists to Sonoma for a week of painting the inspiring landscapes of Sonoma Valley. Whether it is the magnificent green hills with giant oaks, grazing sheep and cows, winding roads, picturesque villages, or the colors and scents of wildflowers---Sonoma Valley in spring is paradise for plein air artists.

For more information about Sonoma Plein Air visit http://www.sonomapleinair.com/

Len Chmiel

There is an intimacy and honesty about the subjects oil painter Len Chmiel chooses, as if each painting were an expression of himself. He explains that he has a pretty good idea of who he is at this point in his life. "I used to try to control everything but now I allow my intuition to speak more. I try to stretch the truth of what the actual image is. I never wind up with a real representation. I do things that are recognizable, yes, but I have a much different intention."

Chmiel travels and works outdoors a great deal, frequently taking trips dedicated to painting on location. His travels have taken him to England, Scotland, and across Europe, into Mexico, Guatemala and Uruguay, as far away as Nepal and Thailand, and as close to home as his own backyard. He is fond of the Western United States where he often fits in hunting excursions with his painting trips. Chmiel tends to work small on location and bring his work back to the studio where he focuses on larger paintings. "I explore the boundaries of the smaller pieces to see which are suited for the impact of an expanded composition."

Chmiel maintains a truly open minded view of art. He cites painters Gustav Klimt, Andrew Wyeth and Richard Diebenkorn as influential artists who were quite different philosophically but similar in that they all transcended their craft and actually told the viewer something about themselves. Chmiel, makes his home in Hotchkiss, Colorado where he not only paints but also gardens, tends his vineyard and fruit trees, makes wine and hunts.

lenchmiel.com

Jan Crooker

Jan Mrozinski Crooker grew up in Toledo, Ohio. Her love of drawing and color began as a child at the Toledo Museum of Art Saturday classes. As an adult, she earned a Bachelor Degree from Toledo University and a M.F.A. in art from Penn State University. She has exhibited nationwide. After graduate school, Jan moved to California to teach at Cal State San Bernandino. She taught in California ten years and then returned to Pennsylvania. She teaches drawing and painting at Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA.

Jan paints in both acrylic and oil paints. Jan's work has always had a childlike exuberance of color and intensity. After completing a three-year still life series, Jan began a landscape series in 2005. She paints both in plein air and in the studio. She is an active member of the Rehoboth Art League and exhibits in the league's outdoor show.

http://www.jancrooker.com/

Hudson River School

Hudson River school group of American landscape painters, working from 1825 to 1875. For the first time a number of American artists began to devote themselves to landscape painting instead of portraiture. They were particularly attracted by the grandeur of Niagara Falls and the scenic beauty of the Hudson River valley, the Catskills, and the White Mts. The works of these artists reflected a new concept of wilderness—one in which man was an insignificant intrusion in a landscape.

First of the group of artists properly classified with the Hudson River school was Thomas Doughty; his tranquil works greatly influenced later artists of the school. Albert Bierstadt glorified the Rocky Mts. in the West, working in the same manner as the painters in the East. Thomas Cole, whose dramatic and colorful landscapes are among the most impressive of the school, may be said to have been its leader during the group's most active years. Hudson River School landscapes are characterized by their realistic, detailed, and sometimes idealized portrayal of nature along with the juxtaposition of colonialism and wilderness.

Frank Serrano

Contemporary landscape artist, Frank M. Serrano was born in Los Angeles on November 29, 1967. He developed an early interest in art and nature, studying throughout his school days, but is largely self-taught. His natural talent eventually gained him a lucrative career as a freelance commercial artist. After his success in the commercial sector, in the early 1990s Serrano decided to pursue his passion for traditional oil painting and has since developed a strong following of admirers, both nationally and internationally.

Serrano, an avid outdoorsman, is recognized for his keen sense of atmospheric observation and ability to spontaneously interpret his personal connection with nature onto canvas. In 2003 he completed writing and illustrating the book, Plein Air Painting in Oil, published by the Walter Foster Company, which serves as a handbook to budding plein air artists and collectors of this genre of landscape painting. As of August 2006 Serrano serves as plein air painting consultant for Walt Disney Studios.

pleinairgallery.com