Artist of the Month
plein air suede New Haven
Our featured artist this month is Wendy Manning. Wendy does plein air painting with oil pastels in and around New Brunswick, Canada. She is very involved in the online artist community, WetCanvas.com.
Wendy takes her oil pastels painting both locally and when hiking off the beaten track. Please join us for....
"Magdelens"
A conversation with Wendy Manning
How did you
get started in art?
Plein air paintings were what got me accepted into art school.
I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts in the seventies,and taught Junior High art
for a while, but got away from art-making for a couple of decades while raising
a family, relocating, teaching in another area, etc. Shortly after I got
back to teaching art - middle school this time - I discovered WetCanvas, the
online artist's community, and that was just the motivation I needed to get back
to painting.
What attracted
you to the oil pastel medium?
I worked
mainly in soft pastels, then discovered I was allergic to dust. I tried using
the student-grade oil pastels, liked them but found them limiting, and then
chanced upon some Holbein artist-grade oil pastels, and there was no looking
back. Holbeins are my favorite, although I enjoy Caran D'Ache and have a fair
number of Senneliers as well. I use them in a very similar manner to soft
pastels.
After you got
back into painting, what started you going out and doing plein air painting
again?
I have to say
that my inspiration to get back to plein airs came from another Oil Pastel
Society member, Carly Clements. I was impressed at how she could make a so-so
scene into a beautiful painting (soft pastels at that point) and heard that she
had challenged herself to make 100 plein airs. Well, I wanted to try that, too!
I discovered that painting en plein air is relaxing and intense at the same
time. You become immersed in your surroundings; the color, light, pattern. It
probably has something to do with the right brain.
How do you carry oil pastels into the field?
I keep a mini-kit in the car year-round, so if I'm waiting, say, for my daughter to get her braces tightened, I can do a plein air of whatever is nearby. I have a whole series of plein airs done in parking lots!
"ClydrR by Church"
How do you deal with the softening challenge of Oil Pastels in the heat?
For plein air work I prefer to use my Cray-Pas Specialist oil pastels. They come in 88 colors in a nice wooden box, ( easy to carry in my insulated backpack/stool thingy) and they don't seem to get sticky and melt in hot weather. My minikit is inside the backpack so if I know a long walk is involved I can put an abbreviated palette of pastels in it and strap it around my waist.
Wendy has shared some photos of her mini-kit with us. See the article “Painting demo by Wendy Manning”.
What surface do you like to use for your paintings?
Because of
time constraints, my oil pastel plein airs are usually 8x10 or smaller, often
5x7. I keep an assortment of papers, different colors and surfaces, in my kit so
I can make a choice based on the scenes I encounter. I prefer sanded surfaces,
and often prepare them myself. I also like suede matboard.
"Cameron
Rd"
What would you say to some artists who avoid painting in public?
I have
found people to be polite and friendly when they see me sketching. I work in my
lap, on a lawn chair or my pack/stool, and sometimes in the car, so I'm not
especially noticeable. Usually I just get a smile and a hello. If I'm making a
real mess, that’s when someone wants to take a look!
Do plein air paintings look any different?
Some
things to remember about plein airs are that they won't necessarily look as
finished as in studio work, and they won't necessarily "turn out". When you get
over the pressure to have a "successful" painting, you will be free to learn and
enjoy, and to experience the immediacy of painting something that's right in
front of you. And some of them WILL be "successful"! I have some of my 5x7
plein airs in a shop in a touristy complex- just the right size (and price) for
those people off the tour ships! Other plein airs serve as studies for in studio
paintings. The painting ,"Autumn Afternoon", that got an Honorable Mention in
the Beginnings show, was based on a plein air painting.
I think oil pastels are the ideal plein air medium. And I want to
encourage you to take those oil pastels outside and get painting!