Current Events : Paintings by Shawn Beasley

"My phone is full of "reference photos". Not taken to have a great photo but to capture something I can put on canvas. Many of my new paintings are from recent snaps on my phone. I generally prefer not to paint from my phone because of the small size and screen timeouts - I typically get 5x7 prints made as reference photos. This fall though I have just been painting from my phone. The idea from a phone size image is enough to get the painting moving - I don't want to copy every leaf or hair.

 

"My painting is definitely changing over time - hopefully for the better. I want them to look good from afar and pretty darn messy up close. I drove to Easton, MD this summer to attend the well-known plein air festival they have there. Even though the 58 juried artists were scattered all over painting and largely done for the event by the time I arrived, it was a great experience. They use their local armory as the main venue. Wet paintings are on display all week for viewing. They provided a couple of free painting demos every day from previous award winners. Each artist selected their two favorite paintings to submit for the competition - they were on display in an adjacent building. Even more demos were conducted daily in an adjacent church. It was great to see such a fine-tuned event. I did manage to find random painters set up on the sidewalk. Sometimes they were juried artists or just aspiring ones like me. I intentionally didn't take any materials; I just wanted to watch and learn. Following my art is definitely a major calling for me - I probably have more than one. Someday I will join my flock full-time."