ART ALFRESCO

I am currently organising my first Plein Aire painting holiday based in St.Pons de Thomieres, the guinea pigs, sorry, keen participants are some of my fellow members of the 'Art Alfresco' group which meets over the spring and summer here in N.I. Of late we have also been meeting in winter and so the group formally known as 'A.A' has been rechristened the 'B.B.' - the balaclava brigade.
My art alfresco attempts so far this year have been in the sketchbook, the easel hasn't ventured out to suffer cold feet. But my one trip out is giving birth to a lot of work completed in the studio and at my painting demonstrations. Voila - Minnowburn no.1 -

 

Thinking about plein aire artists I did a search for the 'top 10 plein aire artists' and was very surprised that a list hasn't been compiled, I thought there were top 10's of EVERYTHING KNOWN TO MAN. If there were to be a list course in no.1 position would be Turner, no.2 possibly Constable?  (although I'm not a fan) and then we would turn to France and the first (?) French plein aire group; the 'Barbizon school' with it's leading lights Camille Corot and Theodore Rousseau would also get into the top 10, although it would be dominated by the later impressionists. 

 

 As a child we had a print of this painting on the wall at home, Corot's view of Ville D'Avray. Not I suspect painted en plein aire, a bit too refined , this painting has a much more alfresco feel about it -

 

And at just 5 x 10 inches that sounds like the kind of wee board that's super portable to paint on.

 

But I much prefer the outdoor work of Rousseau, these pieces are wonderful in the brushwork, I would love to see them for real.

 

 

Landscape with Stormy sky - look at it! wonderful, what a sky.

 

Marsh in the Souterraine. The colour might be a bit off in this image, but boy does it look so fresh and modern otherwise. This image is very like our location today beside the River Lagan at Drumbeg but I somehow suspect I shan't be producing anything of this calibre. Just got to keep trying....and trying.

Must have a look now for some paintings of the Languedoc from plein aire artists of bygone times ( there are more than enough contemporary pieces), OK off to search .......