At the turn of the 21st century, I attended a small yet exquisite exhibition of Impressionist paintings, and was instantly drawn to the soaring skies of little-celebrated French painter, Eugène Boudin. An early pioneer of painting en plein air (whose work inspired a teenage Monet), his fast and loose strokes were evident in these paintings that captured the light and action of late 19th century Normandy's expansive and busy beaches.
Low horizons, soaring and moody skies... I knew way back then - at least in my heart - that I wanted to do the same.
Fifteen years later, I began to paint, at first en plein air - but not with oil paints which are more suitable to painting outdoors. No, I began with the paints at hand, which were acrylics, and even though the drying time seemed unforgivably rapid, I was hooked on feeling that gooey medium coming off the brush and onto the canvas. Golly, was it ever addictive!
I found I didn't mind painting fast, and have never looked back. To this day, I still love to push the paint around and mix the colours on the canvas, just to see where it will go and what it will do - which I find especially satisfying when I paint skies. I keep pushing the limit with how high the sky can go into an original painting, how many different colours I can bring into it, and the shapes and shadows of the clouds - all of which tell a new story each and every time.
More about Eugène Boudin
Having grown up in Normandy, France, Eugène Boudin began to paint beach scenes en plein air, catching the unique light of shifting sea and vast skies, and inserting tiny people and objects with only a few choice strokes of the brush. His work inspired many in the Impressionist movement, especially Claude Monet and Henri Matisse, who called him "Master".
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