"Autumn Gold Marsh" A Plein Air Painting of a Lowcountry Marsh

This view of a Lowcountry tidal creek winding through marsh grass turning gold in the autumn light caught my eye as I searched for a painting location during the Oil Painter's of America's (OPA) "Great American Paint Out" at Poplar Grove this weekend.

Plein Air painters from all over the region including members of OPA, the Charleston Outdoor Painters Association, the Charleston Artist Guild, and the Community of I'On Artists gathered to paint in the beautiful fall weather at the 6,000 acre property of Poplar Grove.

Painting this tidal creek required working fast to capture the ebbing tidal water and rapidly changing afternoon light. These conditions often create a painting that is looser and more expressive than work created in a studio environment.

The need to work quickly is one of the challenges that artists find both frustrating and rewarding about painting on location-"en plein air". Sometimes the effort to paint en plein air produces a fresh, exciting finished canvas. Sometimes a less finished but still useful color study or location sketch. Whatever the result, the experience of plein air painting on location in a natural setting, renews and expands an artist's skill.


"Autumn Gold Marsh"
Oil painting on canvas panel
11" x 14"
Price: $450.00