Through July 17, Massachusetts coast scenes by Robert G. Beaulieu will be on view at Front Street Gallery, in Scituate, Massachusetts.
 
The show, titled “Scituate and More…,” features mostly plein air pieces of that Massachusetts town, but a few paintings of Boston are included as well, plus some studio work. That seems like a good snapshot of where Beaulieu is these days in his painting — mostly plein air, mostly coastal scenes.
 


“Plymouth Plantation,” by Robert G. Beaulieu, 2015, oil, 11 x 14 in.

 
“As I progress in my endeavors as an oil painter, painting en plein air has become a more and more favorable genre to work in,” says Beaulieu. “Although working in the studio has its own rewards, being in the field to capture the essence and create a spontaneity of a scene is so much more rewarding. This discipline does enhance your studio work — disciplining you with the light and color over a landscape, better than any photograph or your imagination.
 


“Rexhame Beach Scene,” by Robert G. Beaulieu, 2015, oil, 12 x 16 in.

 
“I try to achieve most plein air paintings alla prima — completed in one sitting. But it always seems there is a little touch-up that nags me once I get back to the studio. Its literally five-minute touch-up, although in some cases I may find I want to enhance the piece with a new sky, darken the foreground, etc. I do usually take a photo, but I use it only if there are any fine details that need to be completed, like rigging on a boat, windows in a building, and the like. By the time you have been on location for three to four hours, you have pretty much engrained that image in your mind, and with the combination of the paint already on the canvas serving as either a near finish or just a foundation, you have enough information to complete in the studio.”
 


“Highland Street Farm,” by Robert G. Beaulieu, 2015, oil, 11 x 14 in.

 
Beaulieu goes on, “I do many of my pieces in the late afternoon. I work in the middle and dark tones, and then the late-afternoon light leaves a broad bright strip stretching across the canvas, as in the many marsh scenes I do, or creates intense highlights on the side of a structure. It’s the finishing touch of this highlighting that really makes the painting zing.”
 
For more information on the exhibition, click here.
 


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