En Plein Air And Relationships: Becoming Self-Aware With The Art-Making Process

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether interaction with an emotionally resonant landscape environment might facilitate engagement with the art-making process. To collect data, the artist-researcher decided to paint en plein air every day for four months at Beetlebung Farm, a small, charismatic New England family farm. She documented her process with photos, and reflected on her practice in a daily art journal. Additionally, she conducted interviews and innumerable informal discussions with farm family members, farm workers, farm visitors, art collectors, and artists. Content analysis was focused on the writings of Betty Edwards, Wolf Kahn, and Claude Monet. The literature review included technical books and the art work of George Innes, Wolf Kahn, Claude Monet, Stan Murphy, John Singer Sargent, Allen Whiting, and Andrew Wythe, among others. Through a combination of data analysis and personal reflection, the artist-researcher concluded that art-making process was not only facilitated by a relationship with an emotionally resonant place, but that the union of place, artistic practice, and reflection can provoke critical insight into the nature of relationships.