Monday, May 05, 2008
PAINT WILMINGTON! 2008

May 5-10

Nine landscape painters from all over the country arrive in Wilmington to paint for five days. They're referred to these days as "plein air" painters, meaning that they paint outside as opposed to snapping a photo and going back to the cozy studio to paint. Not that there's anything wrong with that. However, for the experienced artist painting out in the sunshine and wind tends to make for paintings that capture the living, breathing air of the day. The time limit enforced by the moving sun and sometimes the weather requires making quick and confident decisions. (The blasted shadows move as the day progresses and a sudden thunderstorm can seriously rearrange tree branches, not to mention the painter's stuff) The composition must be decided before brush touches paint. There's no time for drawing mistakes.

There is a long history of this "plein air" work, but in recent years the growing appreciation for these gems that come wet off the easel, has offered painters the opportunity to challenge themselves with landscapes from hither to yon. (Wilmington qualifies as a yon for most of these painters.) The time it takes to create a great plein air piece is not the time spent painting this painting, but the years of training: training the eye to see well, the hand to interpret what is seen, and above all to become intimate with an elusive notion that only few ever grab hold of, but nearly everyone (yes, you too!) instinctively responds to: Composition. Because the arrangement of shapes and values and colors in a painting are so important to the response you and I have to that painting, composing a painting can require adjusting building placement or the curve of a road. Although the sense of place is not lost (i.e. no conveniently placed mountains), photographic specifics are not what painting is about. Simplicity of shape and the selective, decisive brushstrokes required by plein air painting may appear “unfinished”. But that very element - being able to see how a painting was put together - makes it even more magical: that such simple and few brushstrokes have made a record of one glorious moment in time.

10% of all painting sales through Sunday will go to support the Historic Wilmington Foundation.

Monday Evening, May 5, 7PM, Larry Moore presents a talk for Collectors and Artists: "How do you know it's good?" Please come early to get a spot. Space is limited.

Saturday Morning, May 10, 9AM, the exhibition of new paintings begins. The gallery is redolent of linseed oil and resplendent in paintings. The artists start heading home around noon to get home in time for Mother's Day, so come early to enjoy coffee and treats and, of course, Beautiful Paintings!

Sunday Afternoon, May 11, 2-5PM, Special hours for Mother's Day