Colleen Webster
Colleen Webster
Painting from life outdoors is a pursuit unlike any other. Once I leave the controlled environment of the studio, the outdoors is a world of vivid elements and unexplored possibilities. Within this living environment of the natural world I paint the effects of natural light in oil. The outcome is a realization of a particular time and place through my own experience and emphasis.
The majority of my paintings are alla prima ('one sitting') providing freshness and immediacy. What i observe instantly transfers to paint without any reworking after the light has shifted. I enjoy a painterly translation that suggests rather than defines a subject. It is not necessary to paint each blade of grass, leaf or branch. A suggestion naturally triggers the viewer's imagination and memory to fill in the blanks without overstating what it is they are looking at. I prefer to convey light, atmosphere and mood rather than a defined literal copy.
