"Plein Air Artist" 10" X 8" acrylic

Plein Air Artist by April M Rimpo

Plein Air Artist

by April M Rimpo

10" X 8"

acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

SOLD at HorseSpirit Arts Gallery 

Plein Air Artist is painted in acrylic on canvas. Plein air is a French term used for painting done outdoors.  Many of my friends enjoy painting on location.  I have ventured out on occasion, but most of my work is done in the studio where I can more easily control the water content.  Since I like having textural effects in my work, I find it difficult to accomplish these when working plein air since the amount of water is critical to many of the techniques I use. You have to learn to work differently since the sun and breezes dry the water before you know it.

I really appreciate artists who can create successful paintings en plein air. Being on site they are able to capture the light while it is happening. We studio painters tend to work a lot from memory (or invent what we wish was there) since photographs seldom capture the light as it really is.

Interested to see other paintings of people by April?  Check out these other blog posts and April's website:

• Having Fun with Portraits
• Sometimes it's the details
• April's figure gallery

If you have questions ask April here. 

Copyright April M Rimpo All Rights Reserved.

"Shadows on the Path" 8" X 10" acrylic on canvas

Shadows on the Path by April M Rimpo

"Shadows on the Path"

by April M Rimpo

8" X 10"

acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

$200 includes shipping and handling with US

On a trip to the Hudson River Valley a few years about, my husband and I visited a few wineries in the area. We arrived at one winery about an hour before the tour was to start so we wandered around the grounds.  It was mid-morning but the light in October on the Hudson Rive is essentially early morning light;  there were great shadows and lights.  As you all know by now, I am drawn to scenes with great shadows and lights, so I took many photographs to help me remember the mood of the scene.

A couple days later, my husband, brother, a friend and I attended a Levon Helm "Midnight Ramble" concert at his studio home in Woodstock, New York.  We loved the concert and were so happy we got to see Levon one more time before his death the following year.  He and his band were truly amazing.  This painting brings back all these memories for me.  I'm sure you too have seen places like this and I hope this painting brings back equally good memories for you.

"A Spot of Color", 8" X 10" acrylic on canvas block

A Spot of Color by April M. Rimpo

Every Fall I walk around our neighborhood talking photographs of the trees and the beautiful colors of the fall foliage.  Unfortunately this year there were not many colors to be found.  Apparently the weather conditions weren't conducive to leaf color change, so most leaves had changed directly from green to brown and fallen.  There was one very small tree nestled among the larger ones that had turned red, gold, and orange. The sun lit this tree so it glowed, jumping out from the shadows.

A good friend and I decided to have a paint-in one wet day, so we huddled in her studio and worked on our own creations.  It seemed like a good opportunity for me to work from the photos I had taken of the little tree. I wanted to share the beautiful lights and shadows of that day, so A Spot of Color was born.  This painting is acrylic on a gallery wrapped canvas board.  I plan to include this little painting in an exhibit held each year during the first couple weeks of December at a local art center.  The exhibit is called "Singular Sensations" where local artists can share some lower priced original art to the public. See the variety of art produced in the area is always great fun. 

"A Spot of Color"

by April M Rimpo

8" X 10"

acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

$200 includes shipping and handling within US