“Painting en plein air is the fun part of being an artist,” Burdick says. “Going out and exploring, learning about the location—you see how the sun changes, how the light is different in a particular place. Even though those paintings aren’t the ones that get sent out and bought by the collectors, for artists, the studies are the real fun. But you are cheating yourself if all you do is studies. The great artists all did studies, but they are known for their big incredible masterpieces done in the studio, which were only possible because of their studies.”
Last Wednesday I had a class of 12 children who came to the Thomaston Upson Arts Council gallery to learn more about Monet and try their hand at creating art like Monet. During the lesson we talked about Monet and how much he enjoyed working outside and especially how much he enjoyed creating his garden with just the right flowers in just the right places so he could paint them in their happy places. Then we talked about Monet's water lily studio paintings which were certainly NOT small studies, but rather room size paintings that would fill almost any wall in my house. I didn't get photos of their finished construction paper paintings, but plan to do that tomorrow to share with you.
It's good to know that the plein air painters of today are not getting so hung up on the label "Plein Air" that they forget they can create wonderful studio works. To see more of Scott Burdick's paintings, go to http://www.scottburdick.com/
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