by Massimiliano Iocco
In recent years plein air painting has become a popular activity in Italy. There are several impromptu competitions with prizes, especially during the summer, which make it possible to paint in good company and to get to know new places. Although I don’t participate in these events anymore, preferring instead to paint with friends without the element of rivalry, I do try to attend at least a couple of the international festivals that take place every year to meet artists from different parts of the world and to make new contacts for exhibitions and workshops.
People in Italy are very curious and have no problem approaching you while you’re painting. They’ll talk to you about their cousin or uncle who paints and show you some of their paintings on their phones. Initially this bothered me and I used headphones to listen to music and isolate myself, but now I’m used to it and I enjoy talking to people even when I’m painting I paint without distinction en plein air and in the studio, but I undoubtedly prefer to paint outdoors because what I’m trying to represent on canvas or paper is alive.
To grasp its vitality, I have to be quick and decisive. I seldom take more than two hours to complete a plein air work; the painting is born and ends on location. I rarely make changes or add details later in the studio.
Although seascapes are my favorite subject, I’m lucky to live in Rome — an open-air museum that offers many ideas for painting. In general, I’m intrigued by complex subjects from which I can extract only what interests me most, giving a rhythm to the structure of the painting through composition, the play of light and shadow, and abstract components, which are fundamental.
Painting outdoors forces the artist to avoid subterfuge or shortcuts. It’s the most honest way to confront one’s limits and the only way to improve the work quickly, even if it’s the more difficult path.
Connect with the artist: instagram.com/massimiliano_iocco
