Plein air is in the spotlight on both sides of the country, with special exhibitions at Marcia Burtt Studio, in Santa Barbara, California, and the Sisters Gallery, in Graham, North Carolina.
“Reach,” by Marilee Krause, watercolor and pastel, 11 1/2 x 11 1/2 in. On view at Marcia Burtt Studio, Santa Barbara, California
Marilee Krause and Ian Roberts are the featured artists in a new show at Marcia Burtt Studio, in downtown Santa Barbara, now through March 9. Krause works from plein air studies and photographs, while many of Ian Roberts’ pieces in this show are finished on location.
“Light Through the Cypress,” by Ian Roberts, oil on panel, 10 x 12 in. On view at Marcia Burtt Studio, Santa Barbara, California
“My father was a landscape painter, and I went out with him doing 8″-x-10″ panels from the time I was 11 years old,” says Roberts. “I used to do a lot of canoe-tripping too. And the two experiences — being in the wilderness and plein air painting — created a deep sense of connection to nature. The experience fills me with a profound joy. It’s spiritual. I live in Los Angeles now and I do much of my painting in the studio. But the untold number of plein air paintings over the years, and that inner joy, inform everything in the studio paintings.”
“Autumn Splendor,” by Arlene Daniel. On view at the Sisters Gallery, Graham, North Carolina
The Sisters Gallery, located in the headquarters of the Alamance County Arts Council, in Graham, North Carolina, is hosting “From the Outside In,” a collection of pieces by members of the Piedmont Outdoor Painting Society. The group received permission from the Piedmont Land Conservancy to paint on protected sites in an effort to increase awareness of the continuing disappearance of undeveloped land in the area. The show will be on view through March 7. For more information, visit the Piedmont Outdoor Painting Society’s website.
