Painting " En Plein Air" by Ioanna
At Larnaca’s Saltlake
The term “ en plein air” or “plain air painting” is the act of painting outdoors in nature. Rooted even before the impressionists in France, was established by an artist called Henri de Valencinees who lived during the 16th century. He urged his students to work on their paintings outdoors more consistently. He suggested to paint plain air at the same spot at different times of the day, in order to capture the fleeting changes of the light. He also considered important to paint outdoors in order to experience the landscape and observe details, like the attire of people, or spesific traits of the landscape. He later on influenced great artists who became famous for their anthropological approach to landscape painting. I think, his, is a more sensitive approach to landscape painting and it resonates with me a lot.
When painting “en plain air “my goals are to experience the landscape, as well as the act of painting itself, at it’s purest form. I have no fixed expectations about the outcome, I enjoy the process and get lost in the moment. I try to experience the landscape’s rythms and peacefulness as much as possible and produce something beautiful and serene.
I observed that time and space acquire a totally different meaning when painting, and painting outdoors intensifies this feeling.
This is Larnaca’s Saltlake, in Cyprus. Famous for the migrating pink flamingos that visit the lake once a year.
This place fascinates me by how it transforms to a completely different place each time I see it. I remember the day I was mesmerised and inspired by this lake. I went there, with my friend, musician and collaborator Bianca Aristia, who visited me in order to develop our art and music project. Two years later, we decided to name our project “Iridescent Melody”. This name hints back to this moment in the lake. The sun was setting right in the middle of the lake, right in front of us. The lake was almost completely dry at the shore, and some droplets of water were flickering from the sun. The colours of the lake were changing from light purple to bluish and in other areas pink, due to the colour of the salt. I t was so magical, that I felt the urge to visit it again and try to depict its beauty.
Of course, each time I go it’s different, due to the weather changes, the shift of the location of the sun from season to season, and the different hours of the day. But this makes me appreciate and admire more the whole creation and let go of trying to control things beyond my grasp.
Painting plain air is by itself demanding and a great way to improve our art skills, our concentration and observation, as well as the ability to handle many tasks simultaneously. Adding to that, painting outdoors with oil colours, is even more demanding. Someone has to be mindful of all the above mentioned, but also use different oil mediums (resins and additional oils with the suitable qualities) and paint faster than usual.
My first serious effort to paint with oils outdoors, is the painting I made at the lake of Athalassa National Forest Park in Nicosia, Cyprus. At first, I was determined to finish the painting completely while painting at the spot, but the process itself taught me to be more flexible and allow things to flow naturally. Finally, the painting was painted almost completely, maybe 90 % “en plein air”.
This beautiful lake has taught me many things, and I have grown to love and appreciate this speck of paradise a lot. First and foremost, I discovered a new world and saw this lake like a microcosm. Like a community of beings who coexist in harmony. It was right there all the time, but I wouldn’t really “see” it.
After spending some time there, someone feels immersed in another dimension, in the world of the beings in this lake. They have their own way to communicate, to go by day after day. Their pace and peacefulness is so harmonious , that is so refreshing for us, and it resonates with the hidden universe in our souls.
“Small Paradise”, oil on canvas
I started painting plain air as a hobby, as a way to unplug myself from this post modern human society.. But it has grown to be so much more precious and didactic to me. It has taught me to follow the pace of nature generally in my life…To let go of my one sided view in order experience what life has to offer me, what is really in front of me and don’t have yet the wisdom to see it.
It also has given me the opportunity to feel as one with nature, to connect in a deeper level, that I cannot express with words… Every time I paint in nature, I feel I developed a connection with the specific place, and feel thankful for all the elements of nature who allowed me to be part of it, even as an observer.
