SKIP WHITCOMB

CLIVE TYLER

An Experiment With Color

I paint my experience with nature, not a reproduction of a scene. I provide my interpretation of a landscape with a representational, impressionist point of view that I hope leaves the viewer wanting to step into the painting, peek around the corner, look up at the aspens, feel the temperature of the day, sense the time, and hear the sounds of leaves rustling or thunder from a distant storm.

I use both broken color and layers of color to represent my subject matter. I want the painting to have a realistic feel from a distance and then as you get closer to have a more emotional and impressionistic quality. When viewed up close, it should reveal its abstract qualities. When I teach, I tell my students, “Create, don’t duplicate.” This helps them from chasing reality too much.

In my work, I want to achieve a sense of place, time, and light. For me, subject matter comes second. I enjoy finding classic compositions that occur naturally outdoors and the problem-solving aspect of painting, where one color can change everything — the mood, the composition, and the harmony — for better or worse.

Pastel is great for moving quickly and tapping into inspiration and emotion. It’s always an experiment with color. I’m not obligated to find a stick the exact color that I want; it takes two or more to create what I want to achieve. With pastel, I’m using my hands, feeling the strokes through my fingers.

Outdoors, I can use the medium to get more work done. I think of plein air painting as my workshop or lesson for the day. Typically I will do four to six studies a day. I usually keep them as reference for studio work.

(TOP LEFT) Aspen Trunk Study, 2021, pastel, 6 x 8 in., collection the artist, plein air • (TOP RIGHT) Sunset Oak, 2013, pastel, 20 x 24 in., collection the artist, studio from plein air study • (ABOVE) Rio Grand Hillside, 2020, pastel, 8 x 10 in., collection the artist, plein air

(ABOVE) Seaside Delight, 2019, pastel, 5 x 5 in., available from artist, plein air • (TOP LEFT) Treasure by the Sea, 2019, pastel, 5 x 5 in., available from artist, plein air • (TOP RIGHT) Secret Marsh, 2019, pastel, 10 x 8 in., available from artist, plein air

KAREN MARGULIS

Expressive Mark-Making

When I started painting back in 2005, I wanted to have a more detailed realistic style. I wasn’t happy with the progress I was making, so I started a daily timed painting habit to improve my work. This practice allowed me to paint in a more uninhibited and efficient manner. My paintings became looser and more painterly. I embraced this newfound freedom and have never looked back. Being less concerned with detail has served me well for plein air studies in particular. In the field, I’m able to capture the essence of a scene quickly and efficiently. As I’ve gained experience, I’ve learned to slow down and be better aware of what I need to do to create more refined paintings in the studio. My goal is to tell a story with expressive mark-making and color. I prefer to suggest detail and leave some mystery, drawing from my memories and feelings about a subject rather than strictly copying what I see. I want to invite the viewer into my paintings and provide an interesting visual journey, allowing them to participate in the story. I’m drawn to painting nature — the more wild and unrestrained, the better. I love to paint wildflowers and wild tangles of grasses. Pastel allows me to easily build up complex layers of value and color. The diversity of pastel types and shapes helps me paint a wide variety of marks, from linear to wide whispers of color and thick impasto. I like to work quickly, starting with large simple passages of pastel and then laying down multiple layers of color, gradually refining the level of detail. Pastels are perfect for this way of working because I can easily change the type of marks I’m making by manipulating the sticks. I can also work with multiple layers without creating mud. Plus, I don’t have to take time to mix colors, set up painting mediums, or clean brushes — and I never have to wait for paint to dry. I just open my box of pastels and start painting.

LANA BALLOT

Intimacy of Drawing

Stony Brook Summer

2019, pastel, 7 x 8 1/2 in. Private collection, plein air and studio

I grew up in Russia, admiring Russian classical realist painters. Later I fell in love with the work of French Impressionists. I still have a passion for both, and I’m trying to find a balance between the two styles in my own work. Expressive color in my paintings is based on deep observation of subtle nuances of light and color in nature.

Even though there is a certain logic in my color choices, my decisions are ultimately intuitive, based on whether my aim is to capture the light and feeling of a place, the time of day, or the season. Light is never the same; color is never the same. I try not to approach color with a preconceived idea about what it should be. I rely on what I see, particularly when I paint en plein air, and that often leads to bold and unexpected choices. I find that pastel encourages a more direct and spontaneous approach to color. Lately, I’m increasingly intrigued by achieving a sketchier and looser look.

Pastel is a medium that spans both drawing and painting, and, to me, that makes it particularly beautiful and alive. Pastel works that speak to me the most have some of the spontaneity and intimacy of drawing; they reveal the presence of an artist in the scene. I want my paintings to have the same qualities.

I do a lot of my current work in the studio, but when I first turned to landscape painting, I mostly worked on location. It’s not that I was a plein air purist, but that was the time just before the digital camera made taking good photos easier. And if I wanted to capture the true light and colors of a place, working from small printed photos with distorted colors was out of the question.

Pastel happened to be just what I needed on location. I had to work fast, make quick decisions about color, and simplify. Painting en plein air with pastels enriched my color vocabulary, made me look closer at my subject, paint looser, and focus only on the essential elements in a scene. I also credit pastels for making me pay more attention to values; in this medium there’s no getting around it if I want to avoid muddy or chalky colors.

Now I paint outdoors as much as my schedule allows, which helps me keep my color fresh. These days, I find that I prefer leaving the plein air work as it is, unfinished. The painting process changes so much from plein air to studio that it’s hard to finish the work on the same note. Most of my plein air pieces serve as reference for studio work, directly or just as color reference, but occasionally I do touch them up and get away with it.

Afternoon Wave Study

2019, pastel, 9 x 12 in. Private collection Plein air

Expanded Digital Edition Content

(CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) Giverny Water Lilies, Marcia Holmes, 2017, pastel, 9 x 12 in., private collection, plein air • Dune Surprise, Karen Margulis, 2021, pastel, 8 x 10 in., available from artist, studio from plein air study • Passing Storm, Karen Margulis, 2019, pastel, 8 x 10 in., available from artist, plein air • Summer Storm, Karen Margulis, 2019, pastel, 7 x 5 in., available from artist, plein air

Expanded Digital Edition Content

Sun and Clouds

Lana Ballot 2019, pastel, 9 x 12 in. Private collection Plein air and studio

Nissequogue Sunset

Lana Ballot 2018, pastel, 8 x 10 in. Private collection Plein air

(TOP ROW L-R) Amalfi

Sunrise, Lana Ballot, 2018, pastel, 9 x 12 in., available from artist, plein air and studio • Beach Buddies, Lana Ballot, 2018, pastel, 9 x 12 in., private collection, plein air • (MIDDLE ROW L-R) Geyser Afternoon, Clive Tyler, 2017, pastel, 6 x 8 in., collection the artist, plein air • Dixon View, Clive Tyler, 2018, pastel, 10 x 10 in., collection the artist, plein air