In this weekly series Kelly Kane, Editor-in-Chief of Plein Air Magazine, shares a favorite painting from the current issue.
Kelly Kane’s Pick of the Week: Fall’s Touch
“A simple, rather mundane section of trees growing next to a lazy Connecticut river became the inspiration on this fall day. More epic views were near, but the comfort of level ground, shade, and proximity to a restroom won out. Once positioned, the elegant, figure-like movement of the tree trunks and interaction of cool and warm hues provided the hook for the painting’s concept. A bold, extremely abstract watercolor underpainting created the foundation for a loose, impressionistic interpretation of the scene. I added bits and pieces of limbs and leaves, and at a certain point, enough was enough. I could have done more, but it would not have added to the serendipitous dance of the pastel and watercolor, which raises the question: how do we know when we’re done? When we have done too much! Sometimes less truly is more. This painting reminds me to keep that as a goal.”
— Richard McKinley, “Making a Personal Creative Statement”
PleinAir Magazine, June/July 2019
