MARGARET LARLHAM San Diego, California
Drawn especially to wilderness terrain, Margaret Larlham paints outdoors in the Mission Trails Preserve near her home in San Diego or on her travels through England, Tanzania, and her homeland, South Africa. Both her plein air and studio work have garnered attention in international, national, and regional juried exhibitions as well as plein air invitationals. She was the recipient of First Prize in the Quick Paint and an Award of Merit at the 2022 Borrego Plein Air Invitational, and First Place (Art + Nature) at the 2021 Laguna Plein Air Painters Exhibition, among other awards.
What an immense challenge to paint the awesome and breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon! Even from a secure place on the rim I swoon at the dynamics of the space. It thrills the senses, as though falling and flying. As a plein air painter I think of myself most often as a tree in the landscape, a rooted presence growing toward the light. In these studio works of the Grand Canyon, however, I was propelled also by my imagination to become more birdlike. I leave my secure stand of what I can see and, as birds do, perch, swoop, and soar, investigating this mysterious realm. The pastel medium is my choice for its quick access to a pre-mixed palette, the mark-making ease of the of pastel sticks, and the lasting freshness of pigment energy.
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