Whats your opinion on current impressionism and plein air art?

Can you post an example of the art you are referring to?

Honestly, I’m hoping to be able to do some plein air stuff myself. I think it will help with my observational abilities.

this is one example of plein air painters in florida. If you just google it you can find butt loads more.

Painting plein aire is a lot of fun. (remember sun block as time flies when in the “zone” painting) It is a fantastic way to really study light and shadow and the cools and warms that make every landscape. I use a cigar box pochade in the field and love to work in oils.

As for impressionism I have always enjoyed how up close the style appears haphazard and disjointed and yet as you step back a wonderful scene appears.

My opinion on the artwork itself is subjective but I think it’s great for people go outside and express their exposure to nature.

good to see positive answers :)

If you dont like it, id like to hear from you too and why :P

@Glow:
re: “if you don’t like it, I’d like to hear from you too and why…”
When I don’t like it is when I’m in an arboretum or park or whatever and the artist is set up in a way to obstruct most anyone else from fully viewing whatever it is they’ve focused on or when the artist is drawing such a crowd of observers that I’m unable to take my time and look on whatever has caused the stir because I become part of the bottleneck.

‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.’
John Keates

I love impressionism but yes it seems now-a-days it’s always old people in a park or waterfront doing impressionism paintings and thinking they are super artsy and trying to sell this shit for beaucoup bucks. But i have done impressionism when doing landscapes. I really like it because in general, as an artist, I revel in chaos. Impressionism allows one to go a little crazy on the canvas and not try and be to “perfect”

“Plein air” just means painting outside. It was popularized by the Impressionists but is not a style in itself. There are a lot of amateur art groups in America that style themselves “Plein Air” painters but I don’t think you can judge it as a single artform. I have gone to art shows and galleries and seen a great variety of paintings done onsite – some I love; others, not so much.

I think it is great that there are so many amateur art groups around and people who are enjoying painting as an activity.

It is not a particular ‘style’ of art that appeals to me over another – it depends upon the specific painting & what it says to me.

I like the works they produce, but the idea of a bunch of artists sitting around taking up space and spoiling my own view and enjoyment of the scene does not sound good. They do it a lot in the beach areas, and act like they have more rights to be there than the tourists do. They get mad if your child runs past them and accidentally gets sand in their stuff.

Thanks all for answering :) I gave everyone a point for just answering ^^

Btw, I asked because im embarking on an impressionistic painting project. My teacher called one of my paintings a “little old lady” painting. I didnt know if she meant it in a bad way or good way, but it made me question if she took my painting seriously or not :/

uh thats its awesome… no but really impressionism was a truly revolutionary art form when first became popularized by monet, their plein air style was innovative, yet their true goals were their attempt in capturing the “fleeting moment” in time it was their “impression” of what they saw not an exact replica. I think what your professor was trying to imply was that any old lady can go and draw nice trees and a beach but the thought behind the work and the style with which you accomplish it is what matters. All the impressionists had their own interests and aims which guided their styles, look at the differences between Renoir, Monet, Pisarro, and even early Cezanne. Or even go back a decade or two and look at the artists that are not really impressionists but began the revolution against academic art like Courbet and Manet. I apologize for the long-winded response but as you can see I regard this art form as truly beautiful nd inspirational. Last tid bit… read some of the pieces by the art critics Emile Zola and Charles Baudelaire they capture the essence of impressionsim through their words and can describe much better than I the idea of the fleeting moment and creating art on your own terms and not those of the school.

As far as this type of painting representing creative new ideas that will have contemporary plein air artists being studied later in art history courses—it is unlikely. That being said, it is my favorite type of painting to make and purchase from other artists. It really shows each artists own beautiful, creative interpretation of the world around them. I think it brings inner peace and connection to the world around me (as does drawing outdoors) in a way that no other activity can. The painting is (hopefully) a beautiful object when completed, but the “art” is truly about the process. I can only assume other artists have similar experiences too! Oh and Glow, by the way, the art teacher that told you that should not be an art teacher! Discouraging a student’s artistic ideas is just so biased, unfair, and uneducated!! However, as an artist, if you show your work to anyone else in the world, you have to prepare yourself for their opinion no matter how unfair…it is just their opinion:)