Plein Air painter Cory Wright offered a free painting demonstration at the Kerouac House, (1418 Clouser Ave, Orlando, FL 32804). The painting demonstration was one of many offered this week as part of the Winter Park Paint Out hosted by the Albin Polasek Museum. When I arrived, Museum Curator, Rachael Frisby was setting up an information table and setting out some lawn chairs. A tall banner announced the Paint Out. It took the evening breeze like a sail held up by a mast. Once a table leg was planted on the base, it was secure.
A young couple arrived with a blanket which they spread on the lawn for a picnic. They ate chicken and sipped wine, while Cory got her easel and palette set up. I liked how she had a paper towel roll neatly hanging from her easel. She held a fist full of brushes, but told us that she tended to just use two on any given canvas. She pointed out that if you want To become a good painter, then the best thing to is draw all the time. She talked quite a bit about painting into the effect which means, having an understanding of the light direction and using that knowledge to inspire the direction the painting takes.
Cory described her process… “The beauty of plein air painting for me,
aside from the obvious delight of simply being outdoors observing
nature, is communicating the energy, immediacy, and sense of feeling
about a particular place through painting. I find I’m constantly on the
lookout for interesting patterns and contrasts in shapes, values and
color, be it a shadow cast on the sand or the reflection of a rock in
the water. Driven to make the most of sharing the beauty I experience
in my surroundings, I aim to snatch a moment of changing light and
reveal that fragment of time to others. In doing so regularly, my hope
is to become evermore skilled and masterful as an oil painter.”
As the sun set, and the golden light faded, Cory finished up her painting adding some dappled light she had observed earlier in the evening. She thanked the dozen or so patrons who had come out to watch her work and there was a moving round of applause.