Venvi Art Gallery currently is showing Nan Liu's Locales: North Florida's Plein Air Landscapes from now until January 18th, 2025. This is the second exhibit we have displayed this year featuring Plein Air artworks. The first one being Sam McCoy's Subtropical: Living in a Sinking State. This exhibit showcased her plein air works depicting locations in Florida and animals found in the state.
While Sam McCoy depicted more animals and landscapes in her show, Nan Liu tends to focus more on the beauty of the undisturbed landscapes in Florida in his. Liu's goal is to showcase the joyous sensations he feels from the natural world, especially in the many undisturbed and undestroyed landscapes. The beauty found in the lakes, gardens and national parks Liu paints show the value and diverse beauty that is around us, inspiring anyone who views it to feel reawakened and cherish the natural landscape.
Plein Air, or "en plein air", is a term meaning "in the open air". This refers to the technique of painting outdoors ("What is Plein Air?"). Plein air artists like Nan Liu would opt to paint outdoors at the physical location instead of inside a studio.
Read more about Plein Air here in an earlier post on our blog: https://www.venviartgallery.com/post/a-brief-introduction-to-plein-air
How Do You Get Started Working in Plein Air?
To start working in Plein Air, the basic necessities you need are a portable easel to mount your canvas or canvas panel on, essential paints and brushes, water and food, and a location to work. Many plein air artists work on canvas panels due to how easy it is to transport to and from places (Earp).
When choosing a location, many factors are at play. These include the weather, time of day, the landscape itself, and also the values of light and dark the landscape provides. The time of day can affect the overall mood your painting evokes to the viewer (Earp).
For example, these two paintings below, Lake Piney Z Summer Cloud (2024) and Lake Piney Z (2012), featured in Locales were both painted at the same location. However, the angle and weather are different in each piece. The angle and time of day help evoke a certain mood while showcasing the area's natural beauty.
Another factor to consider is whether you would want to work in a location where people are present (Earp). However, I believe that this is more up to the artist's preference as some artists do not work around many people while others do. For example, when talking about Subtropical: Living in a Sinking State with Sam McCoy in her Artist Talk back in August, she says that she chooses spots that are a bit more public for working on her pieces in locations with people present. She enjoys learning about the history behind the places that she paints from people walking by or from people who work at the locations she paints at (YouTube).
Locales: North Florida's Plein Air Landscapes will be on display from now until January 18th, 2025, with its art reception being held on Friday, December 6th from 5-8pm at Venvi Art Gallery. To learn more about the exhibition, check out our website at www.venviartgallery.com. To learn more about Nan Liu and his work, check out his portfolio at www.liunanart.com.
Sources:
Earp, S. (2024, November 2). A beginner’s Guide to Plein Air Painting; tips for Success. https://samuelearp.com/blog/beginners-guide-to-plein-air-painting/
What is plein air? - Wayne Plein Air. Wayne Art Center. (n.d.). https://waynepleinair.org/about/what-is-plein-air/#:~:text=En%20plein%20air%20is%20a,and%20movement%20into%20their%20works.
YouTube. (2024, August 14). Artist Talk with Sam McCoy. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGDCvgGiGMk
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