John Olin Gardner
Original Plein Air Oil on Canvas Artwork from our Canadian Landscapes
Recent Paintings
In House Consult
If you want an in home consultation, John will bring his artwork to your house for viewing.
Art In The Park
We show during the summer months in Stratford Ontario, at "Art In The Park"
Visit The Studio
We welcome studio visits to view John's art. Please ask about it in the contact form.
Plein Air
This is my preferred approach to painting and has been for some 40 years. I’ve rarely had a bad experience painting plein air and on reflection any negative experiences were usually of my own making. The French coined the phrase ‘en plein air’ over l00 years ago when they decided to take their canvases out into the open air and paint what they saw and felt. The best thing about this method is that you are not guessing about colours as they are right in front of you. The light in the open air is naturally balanced and brings out subtleties in colour and texture that are sometimes beyond reach in a studio setting. When someone looking at a ‘plein air’ painting says that “I feel like I am there” you know you’ve done a great job in capturing the essence of the day and subject material.
MORE ABOUT JOHN
The heart and soul of the plein air experience is sometimes centred around a ‘plein air box’ that holds a palette of paint and/or a panel or two with some brushes, a palette knife, and a pencil. See my Blog on the ‘Plein Air Box’ which I made years ago. This process usually results in a smaller painting or panel. Weather is generally the limiting factor in producing these paintings. Too much of anything – rain, wind, heat, cold, snow, etc. will limit the length of time you can devote to any one painting. You have to get the ‘idea’ that inspired you down before the weather/light changes the look of your subject material.
I love the hike to the woods and being out there if dressed appropriately. Every day is different in some way. “and into the forest I go to lose my mind and find my soul” – John Muir
Studio
I generally reserve studio time for producing pieces in a larger format. The issue with taking a large canvas outside is the length of working time required to finish and the prospect of weather changes - wind, light, etc. Although canvases up to 2 or 3 feet can be done in a plein air format, weather conditions have to be favourable. My preferred medium in the studio is acrylic as compared to an oil preference for outdoor work ‘en plein air’. In the studio I prefer working with natural light and if necessary daylight LED lighting. With acrylic you can avoid the organic vapours that can come off oils.
SEE GALLERY