A Brush with Nature – A Triton Museum of Art Exhibition

While in the US last week, I had the chance and pleasure to visit the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara, which exhibits a selection of California plein air paintings by 30 contemporary painters. The works are mainly oil paintings, but also some pastels.

Going around the exhibition, I noted several works I liked:

• “Crest Canyon Vista”, oil canvas on board by Jan d’Alvise.

• “Glowing Horizon”, an oil on canvas board by Albin Selora . The artist uses a luminous palette and the purple and blue sky works very well against the yellow ochre of the ground.

• “Morning Light”, pastel by Terri Ford displays a striking blue sky with some turquoise blue and deep purple shadows. The light catches the top of a row of trees on the right side of the pastel.

• “Red Barn”, oil on panel by Nancy McDonald: This painting features a typical American barn. The artist masters the neutral tones to render the dry grass and the road. The Composition is interesting, as almost no sky is visible.

• “Alameda crane”, pastel by Ann Mc Millan. The vivid colours of this pastel caught my eyes as soon as I entered the exhibition room. The composition is deceptively simple, with the crane as the focal point and one boat on each side. The sky is green blue and the concrete structure of the crane outlined by the afternoon sun.
  
  

Several of the artists exhibited belong to the California Academy of Painters, like Brigitte Curt and Jim Smyth.

Many artists in the exhibition belong to the Bay Area Plein Air Artists group and you can see some of their paintings by following the links below:

• Maria Boisvert


• Susan Brott Lawson


• Brigitte Curt


• Marcia Enns


• Kimberly Holl


• Morning Nichols


• Sandy Ostrau


• Linda Stanley


• Mary Stahl


• Alice Weil


• Karen White


• Tonya Zenin
  
  

Where and when

A Brush with Nature
California Plein Air Painting

January 19 – 22 March, 2008

Triton Museum of Art
1505 Warburton Avenue
Santa Clara, California 95050

Monday - Wednesday: 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Thursday: 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Friday - Sunday: 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

FREE admission

Triton Museum of Art Santa Clara Museum Plein air painters of California A Brush with Nature Oil painting Pastel