05/08/2026
Make sure you stop by Atomic 79 this evening between 5 and 8 p.m. during the Dillon Art Walk, to visit with our very Talented Artist Nancy Glover.
Artist Statement:
The oil paintings exhibited in this show are all done en plein air, as the French say it or outside on location. In some instances I touched up a color or shape in the studio. I have found that the freshness and spontaneity of paint and brush on the surface can’t be adjusted much without losing its energy and spirit.
When painting outside lots of variables come into play. Before I set up to paint, I look for a site I’m drawn to. There is usually something that draws me in, maybe the sky, could be color, shape of the mountain and sometimes the location brings forward memories of people from the past. The depiction of a location is not a fixed translation of what you observe in order to paint it. The sense of place, the sights and sounds of your surroundings get compressed into 3-4 hours. The clock is always ticking because the light is alive and on the move. Caste shadows are constantly changing which alter the forms you are looking at.
During the first days of my plein air painting, I had remembered the well known quote from Monet, “when you go out to paint try to forget what objects you have before you, a tree, a house, a field. Merely think, here is a little square of blue, an oblong of pink here, a streak of yellow and paint it just as it looks to you, until it gives your own naïve impression of the scene before you.” Today, I find it harder to keep it that simple. I continue to be excited about the possibilities that exist in my painting when I am out in the open air and big sky.
