En plein air – Paintings by David Hunt

For our upcoming spring exhibition we will be exhibiting original paintings, pastels, mixed media work and original prints by Neville Cox and David Hunt. Both artists are highly accomplished at painting ‘en plein air’- a phrase borrowed from French which simply means outdoors.

Painting outside, immersed in the landscape first became popular in the 19th century, starting at end of the romantic movement with it’s emphasis on the glorification of nature, and continuing with the French impressionists and their fascination with light. The challenge of capturing the colours and atmosphere of a scene, and the subtleties that often don’t come across in a photograph is something that still fascinates artists today,

David Hunt draws his inspiration from the scenery and beaches of Exmoor and north Devon, choosing to paint scenes that are often dramatic in scale, depicting open moorland with wind twisted yellow gorse, paths on exposed rocky clifftops and overcast skies.

David works in a variety of mediums, creating deeply pigmented pastels and oil paintings. He also experiments with mixed media, using a combination of pastel and gouache, layering colours to give a depth of shadow and light. This technique creates colours that are bursting with life, with blue skies that shimmer with wisps of cloud and dense green vegetation catching specks of sunlight.

David working in his studio

Painting outside is a vital part of David’s practice, allowing him to accurately portray a sense of space and light, something that is impossible to achieve working solely from a photograph. Being immersed in the landscape, despite the often harsh climate, allows David to work spontaneously, sketching out the weather, light and atmosphere of a fleeting moment. These studies can then be taken back to the studio to be worked on further or used as preparatory material for another work.

We will be exhibiting paintings by David Hunt and Neville Cox in our upcoming spring exhibition, which opens on the 20th March and runs till the 16th April. If you can’t make it to the gallery, all of the work will be available to view online from the 20th.