"Centennial Park Gazebo, Venice, FL"
9"x12" oil by Cindy Mott McGarry
"Creativity takes courage."
- Henri Matisse
There is a plein air painting group called "Lightchasers" www.lightchasersinc.com based in the west-central Florida coastal area. They search out and frequent a variety of places for artists to paint. It is a great way to meet and learn from other artists and challenge your artistic abilities by painting from life.
Working on location has many challenges. Wind, insects, fire ants, animals, heat and cold, rain ... can sometimes make an artist pack everything up and leave the site. However, plein air painting is more about laying down the composition, larger shapes and values with the advantage of seeing the subject in its true natural form. Then, when the painting is taken back to the studio, the painter can use the help of photos, memory and imagination to finish the piece.
Painting man-made objects is not something I really enjoy, but I took the challenge alongside other Lightchaser artists and painted this "Centennial Park Gazebo" in downtown Venice, Florida. The sun was very bright and the white paint on the structure really created some great contrast and made the gazebo stand out. I got the structure down and fully blocked in the other areas before taking the piece home to finish - adding more details and had some fun with loose color work.
This gazebo painting is currently on display at the Venice Art Center www.veniceartcenter.com in the "Reflections" Art Exhibit until August 17, 2018.
Happy Summer!
Cindy
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