Artist's Statement
Italy in general, and Tuscany in particular, have motivated and challenged me as an artist. In Tuscany, the past speaks as loud as the present. It is this contrast between the historic and contemporary, the cultural versus the natural, the geometry of the buildings verses the pitching hills, the wash of warm colors verse the cool blue of the shadows which cultivates my work. As an observer of Italian culture, I sometimes feel as though eminent collapse and chaos are just a moment away, yet within this imperfection, unity and cohesion exist. I would say this balance comes not in spite of this chaos, but because of it. They are inseparable. I feel these paintings describe a landscape that is in a state of flux, in the act of formation. Even as old and as weathered as the landscape is, it is still in a state of motion and transformation.
Most of these works were done Plein Air. This term implies the artist is working directly from nature, instead of from a secondary source such as a photograph. Plein Air painting has many advantages, and more than a few disadvantages to the painter. I respond to the shifting light, the integrity of the colors, and the concentrated energy inherent when painting directly from nature. The disadvantages are that the light can shift in seconds, the weather can make the experience more like a winter camping trip, and colors once vibrant while outside, look like muted grays when seen inside.
When the work was going well something spontaneous, impulsive and automatic occurs. There was no intermediary and I was no longer an outside observer. Unlike a snapshot, which records physical facts, painting on location transcends simple descriptions to convey the experience of being in the landscape. There is a challenge in capturing transient weather and light, and combining it to document an otherwise brief moment. Coping with the constant changes in atmospheric conditions adds an element of urgency to these works, as I try to identify something enduring in the midst of fleeting sensations.
Garrett Speirs