I spend time discussing with my Plein Air painting friends what it is that “drives” us each time we put brush -to paint and -to canvas. Of course it is the playful company of other artists and the joy of total immersion in beautiful places – but why? For my friends it might be color and feeling. I too love the colors, but the “pop” is when I see something where all the pieces shapes, colors/shades snap together – together. Maybe there’s a rhythm of repeated shapes or the fading of color into atmospheric perspective or the frill of oaks dipping into the crevices of hills. While my camera can quickly capture a scene that moves me, only the struggle with paint, brushes and canvas allow me the sustained, compassionate, attention that equals the love and joy I feel when I paint.

Whether in an outdoor setting or in my studio, I love to create the magic that happens between paint and brushes on the canvas. While my digital drawings are more decorative than the paintings, their creation is often a process of integrating photographs with drawings. They are an imaginative release from the Plein Air observations.

Over the years in my teaching career, I was able to first integrate my art interests with classroom art teaching and later to bring my art skills to technology. I often taught digital drawing skills along with photography and incorporated them into classroom technology projects and the design and facilitation of original online classes for teachers. It is truly exciting to witness how the visual has become so much a part of our current communication language.

Sue Collins

www.suecollinspaints.com

sue.collins@gmail.com