Plein Air & Interieurs – Rod Pearce
12 Oct – 12 Nov 2012
From October 12th until November 12th 2012, The Minster Gallery in Winchester will be showing new paintings by Rod Pearce and John Whittall, two highly acclaimed British artists.
This exhibition brings together the work of two friends who over the years have painted together in the impressionist tradition en plein air. Although, it is a familiar concept today, the practice of painting outdoors, rather than in a studio, was really embraced by the Impressionists at the end of the XIXth century. The development at that time of easily portable painting equipment and materials, including paints sold in tubes, made it possible and increasingly popular.
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Whilst outside, the artist can study and capture the effects of light and different times of day on a subject. Painting a picture in the open air requires rapid composition and brushwork, neither of which is feasible unless the artist has a great master of the fundamentals of drawing and painting. Rod Pearce and John Whittall both have the great skill of capturing the world that surrounds them en plein air in a most delightful way.
This exhibition also shows their great skills in painting interieurs. Whilst John Whittall is well-recognised for his exquisitely executed still lives, Rod Pearce is showing a wonderful series of life class paintings which capture the atmosphere of the studio, the models and the artists painting.
Rod Pearce
Rod Pearce graduated from Chelsea School of Art in 1964 and has painted ever since. He worked as a lecturer in art and taught for many years. He takes inspiration from his travels and London surroundings. The Thames, local commons, London and well-known Venetian locations are subjects he likes to explore.
This new collection reflects his wonderful loose plein air representations of London, Winchester and the Isle of Wight, influenced by his admiration of Alfred Sisley. It is his love of simple beautiful things like warm sun on an old stone wall, flowers in a misty garden, the winding path along a river bank, the light on a tree, that enables him to capture his subject in an ever changing light, that will delight the viewer.
As shown in this exhibition, he also enjoys painting interieurs including during art classes. With a few strokes of his brush, he recreates the intimist atmosphere of the studio.
He says “In my view, the art of paintings can enable the viewer to enhance appreciation for the beauty and character of the world we live in by the way the paint is handled and the use of colour, tone and depiction of atmosphere and light. This can be an enriching experience for the viewer and paintings that are lived with can grow on one in a way that deepens that appreciation.”
Rod’s work is in many private collections in the UK and abroad and three of his very large paintings travel the world on the Queen Mary II following a commission by Cunard a few years ago.
