Rhonda Polsfut
I believe that every person has an artistic or creative part of themselves. Some of us are fortunate enough to have had someone or some event which nurtured that aspect of ourselves. I have felt that my artistic talents are somewhat in my genes, but I also know that my first-grade teacher helped inspire me to use my artistic self and paint. She gave me paints and brushes, then encouraged me to paint my first mural on a newspaper roll. I have had adult and children students tell me they couldn’t draw or paint, but once given the opportunity to explore a medium, they showed an inner creativity they never knew they had. The wonderful art they created opened a window into a new view of themselves. My wish is that everyone takes an opportunity to find that creative part of them, and to allow the fresh air of life flow through their window. FRESH AIR….PLEIN AIR PAINTING (PAINTING IN FRESH AIR) allows me as an artist to really observe my view with a freshness that is difficult to achieve in the studio. Catching the light as it moves and creates shadows, and then trying to paint the subtle changes of color, value, and hues becomes a challenging game - a game that I, as an artist, feel may be a game never won. Plein air painting is the artist’s game for continuously learning how to paint the landscape and all the shapes, forms, and ever changing variables of nature and man, within view in a short time span. Plein air painting is a way to view and preserve the world, live in it and help an observer want to preserve our world.
“PLEIN AIR PAINTING: an act of PRESERVATION.” – Rhonda D. Polsfut