We love to hear from the Plein Air Today community! The following is part of a series that spotlights an artist who loves painting outdoors. Today’s feature is on Stewart White.
“It’s always about the light,” says Stewart White of plein air painting. “In this scene — a pool house canopy on the Talbot County, Maryland, estate that played host to the 2025 Plein Air Easton Meet the Artists event — I was attracted to the light at the base of the twin columns on the right.
“After composing an earth-toned value study, I began laying in color, racing to capture the shadows before they shifted with the sun. Once the initial washes dried, I added a figure to bookend the scene, balancing the strong light on the columns and introducing a quiet narrative of someone relaxing poolside. Happily, the figure’s long shins loosely repeated the shapes of the glowing column bases, subtly unifying the composition.
“Although the grounds were full of collectors and art enthusiasts mingling with the working artists, no one actually lounged at the pool as I worked. At times like this, I’m grateful for the figure-drawing skills I’ve honed during weekly sessions with a live model; the imagined figure was just what I needed to complete the composition and bring the painting to life.”
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Story originally edited by Kelly Kane; Blog post prepared for the web by Cherie Dawn Haas
