I love the idea that we are all connected, that there is a big picture and that just as it is with a jig-saw, we are all connected. When I started connecting with other artists through various social media platforms I don’t think I fully realised just what a rewarding experience it was going to be.
It was not long after I first joined Twitter that I began to realise just what a powerful medium this social media platform is. At first I was following everybody and their mother, until I attended a brief social media training session. I don’t remember a lot of what the course involved and most of the content shot straight over my head. The people attending the course all seemed way ahead of me and from their language I discerned that most of them were very “professional”. I only remember one bit of information and it was liberating for me. The presenter said this:
“ follow everyone out of courtesy but set-up a select list of the people you believe will add value to your journey and will advance your cause and only read their stuff”
This little tip has been invaluable; it has allowed me access to the work and philosophies of some great artists. From that moment on, Twitter has proved to be a stream of inspiration and encouragement, not to mention a showcase for my own work, ideas and conversation. In this short blog I want to highlight the work of one specific artist and the world of Plein Air which she has introduced me to.
It was not long after I first joined Twitter that I began to realise just what a powerful medium this social media platform is. At first I was following everybody and their mother, until I attended a brief social media training session. I don’t remember a lot of what the course involved and most of the content shot straight over my head. The people attending the course all seemed way ahead of me and from their language I discerned that most of them were very “professional”. I only remember one bit of information and it was liberating for me. The presenter said this:
“ follow everyone out of courtesy but set-up a select list of the people you believe will add value to your journey and will advance your cause and only read their stuff”
This little tip has been invaluable; it has allowed me access to the work and philosophies of some great artists. From that moment on, Twitter has proved to be a stream of inspiration and encouragement, not to mention a showcase for my own work, ideas and conversation. In this short blog I want to highlight the work of one specific artist and the world of Plein Air which she has introduced me to.
I have always been drawn to Impressionism and artists, past and present, who associate themselves with Impressionism as a personal style. The idea of capturing the “spirit” of a subject and the impression it creates in the eye of the beholder rather than the accurate recording of shape really appeals to me. Twitter has given me access a host of amazing impressionists.
In this blog I would like to make special mention of Dutch impressionist Roos Schuring. Roos is a hard-core plein air artist and a quick look at some of her YouTube tutorials will leave you in no doubt that she not only has an unquenchable appetite for plein air but a deep passion for impressionism. Unlike so many artists Roos is happy to share her ideas, processes and some great tips. I think she knows that her work is so individual that competition is never going to be an issue; she is for me, a true original.
Inspired by Roos, I have begun to explore the world that is en plein air. After watching a few of Roos’s tutorials and encouraged by her raw passion I set off one very cold morning, heading for a beach on the Dorset coast near to my home. The short story is that all of Roos’s advice was good, even the part about good thermal protection. Despite heeding her advice I was not prepared for the icy north wind that turned my face blue, made my nose and eyes water and reshaped my hands into immobile appendages. In one short two hour plein air session on that lonely grey beach, I suddenly acquired a whole new appreciation for the solitary figure, totally captivated by her subject that we see in her You Tube tutorials.
Roos Schuring’s scenes are as fresh and crisp on the canvases as they were the day they were painted. Each brush stroke is as full of colour and emotion as the moment she captured the “spirit” of the day and scene. Do I love her work? ......you bet.
In this blog I would like to make special mention of Dutch impressionist Roos Schuring. Roos is a hard-core plein air artist and a quick look at some of her YouTube tutorials will leave you in no doubt that she not only has an unquenchable appetite for plein air but a deep passion for impressionism. Unlike so many artists Roos is happy to share her ideas, processes and some great tips. I think she knows that her work is so individual that competition is never going to be an issue; she is for me, a true original.
Inspired by Roos, I have begun to explore the world that is en plein air. After watching a few of Roos’s tutorials and encouraged by her raw passion I set off one very cold morning, heading for a beach on the Dorset coast near to my home. The short story is that all of Roos’s advice was good, even the part about good thermal protection. Despite heeding her advice I was not prepared for the icy north wind that turned my face blue, made my nose and eyes water and reshaped my hands into immobile appendages. In one short two hour plein air session on that lonely grey beach, I suddenly acquired a whole new appreciation for the solitary figure, totally captivated by her subject that we see in her You Tube tutorials.
Roos Schuring’s scenes are as fresh and crisp on the canvases as they were the day they were painted. Each brush stroke is as full of colour and emotion as the moment she captured the “spirit” of the day and scene. Do I love her work? ......you bet.