Busacca Gallery

By Artist James Swanson: "Putnum Street" 14"x18" Oil on Linen Panel. This artwork is a part of The Artist and the Traveler painting project created by James Swanson, an artist and traveler. The piece was specifically painted for an exhibition at the Swope Art Museum in Terre Haute, Indiana. The exhibition focused on Terre Haute, and for inspiration, Swanson turned to Google Street View, stumbling upon Putnum Street. Given his experience with plein air painting, he decided to incorporate this technique into the artwork, capturing the scene as if he were physically present. In addition to being featured in the Terre Haute exhibition, the painting also earned a spot in the Oil of America's National Juried Salon show in Petoskey, Michigan, in 2013. The painting is signed on the front and back, accompanied by a handwritten note detailing the traveler and the location. James Swanson, an award-winning oil painter, resides and works in Chicago. Originally from Wisconsin, he initially pursued a career as a Forest Ranger in college but ultimately chose to paint trees rather than sit among them. Swanson obtained his BFA in Illustration from The Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio.

Plein air painting has a rich history dating back to the mid-19th century and is closely associated with the Impressionist movement. The term "plein air" is French for "open air," and plein air painting involves creating art outdoors, directly capturing the scenes and atmosphere of the natural environment. Before the 19th century, most artists worked indoors in studios, using sketches and studies created outdoors as references for larger, more detailed works. However, with the advent of portable paint tubes and easels, artists gained the ability to work outdoors more easily. This shift allowed for a more immediate and spontaneous approach to capturing light, color, and atmosphere. The Barbizon School, a group of French landscape painters in the 19th century, played a crucial role in the development of plein air painting. Artists like Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and Theodore Rousseau explored the countryside, painting directly from nature and emphasizing the importance of capturing the effects of light and atmosphere. Plein air painting gained even more prominence with the rise of the Impressionist movement in the late 19th century. Artists such as Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Camille Pissarro embraced the practice, rejecting the traditional studio methods in favor of capturing the fleeting effects of light and color outdoors. The immediacy of plein air painting allowed them to convey the changing atmosphere and vibrant nuances of the scenes they observed. The Impressionists' emphasis on capturing the essence of a moment and the changing qualities of light had a lasting impact on the art world. Plein air painting continued to evolve, influencing various art movements and styles throughout the 20th century and beyond. Today, plein air painting remains a popular and respected artistic practice, with artists worldwide embracing the challenge of creating art in the open air. It offers a unique connection between the artist and nature, allowing for a more direct and spontaneous expression of the surrounding environment.

Link: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/optg/hd_optg.htm

Encyclopedia: Winter Creek Oil Painting On Linen Panel By Artist James Swanson



The beginnings of oil painting are recorded as early as the twelfth century in Northern Europe. But it was the virtuoso handling of the medium on panel by early Netherlandish painters such as Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden in the fifteenth century that represented a turning point in its eventual adoption as the major painting medium in Europe in the sixteenth century. By then, Jan van Eyck had been incorrectly credited with the "invention" of oil painting.