The Artist - UK (2019-12)

34 artistDecember 2019 http://www.painters-online.co.uk

OUT AND ABOUT WITH GEOFF HUNT: 10TH OF 10

DECEMBER

In the last article in this series,

Geo Hunt works up a studio

painting from a plein-air sketch

P

ainting en plein air has become

a very popular activity over

the last 20 or so years, with

more and more individuals and

whole groups, some of them very large

indeed, devoted to this kind of art.

You can take various approaches

to outdoor work, ranging from quick

sketchbook notes to concentrating on

one carefully considered piece done

in a whole day. But the prevailing

ethos these days tends towards what

I sometimes call the smash-and-grab

approach: to descend en masse upon

a particular set location for a single

day, where everyone paints like crazy

to produce possibly several paintings

each, then on to the next location,

maybe never to return to the fi rst place.

The sense of urgency this creates can

be stimulating, not to mention the spirit

of competition, and you can get great

work out of it. But there is another much

calmer and just as enjoyable a way

of working outdoors, which is simply

always to carry a sketchbook and to get

to know your own locality inside-out,

in all seasons and at all times of day:

always to patrol your home patch. This

way you are ready for opportunities of

light and atmosphere, and the chance

to see the familiar in unexpected ways.

 Victoria & Albert Museum, December Dusk,

watercolour on Fabriano sketchbook pages,

123 6in (30.5 3 15cm).

This painting is an example of the sketchbook

sort-of approach. It was a December

afternoon and I happened to be walking in a

favourite area, along by the South Kensington

museums, when I was struck by the

appearance of the Victoria & Albert Museum,

looking slate-grey and very Victorian, lights

glowing in some of the windows, silhouetted

against a luminous winter sky. The sky was

changing rapidly and the light was fading. I

would have to be quick. All I had with me was

my usual sketchbook and the very minimum

painting kit (see my article in The Artist,

May 2016 issue), so I i shed these out of the

rucksack, propped the sketchbook up against

a handy railing, and in about 30 minutes

rapidly registered this subject. Working

standing up, and not having anywhere at all

to put anything down, I ran out of hands at

one point and dropped the little water pot, or

I might have been even quicker

TA