Principle Gallery: Washington Society of Landscape Painters
The Principle Gallery in Alexandria features 50 works created by 32 area artists, working in oils, pastels, and watercolors.
“The Washington Society of Landscape Painters is one of the oldest functioning organizations in the greater Washington metropolitan area that focuses on painting. You can trace their origins back to 1913,” says Clint Mansell, director of the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, Virgina.
“They focus on realism and plein air painting. This is the third time we’ve actually held their exhibition. It’s a group that we like [to exhibit] because of the quality of their work.”
The exhibition, juried by the gallery, boasts 50 works created by 32 area artists, working in oils, pastels, and watercolors. It’s a rich, varied assortment, encompassing almost every type of landscape imaginable.
There are epic vistas, like Jill Basham’s intoxicating “Into the Blue” and John Eiseman’s brightly colored “Grazeland.” There are ravishing sunsets (Christine Graefe Drewyer’s “The Way Through”) and eye-popping sunrises (Barbara Nuss “October Sunrise”).
There are bold forays into heightened realism, as in “Southern Boxcar” by Raymond Burns and Brenda Kidera’s mesmerizing “Reflections & Ripples.” And there are pieces to just lose yourself in, like Ted Reed’s luxurious “The Mists of Morning, Great Falls, Virginia.
“As living beings, we have an innate connection to the natural world and an interest of being outside,” Mansell says of the emotional repsonse a landscape painting evokes. “Fresh air in the wilderness, at the beach, in the mountains, marshlands, on the farm even.”
Landscapes, he says, tap into our conciousness. “When you think of the natural world and sort of the calming effect it could have on you, a landscape can make you think of a place that you have been before. It can bring up a nostalgia for an idyllic scene that you have experienced in the past, like a good memory.”
The Washington Society of Landscape Painters Group Exhibition remains on display through March 17 at the Principle Gallery, 208 King Street, in Alexandria, Va. For gallery hours, call 703-739-9326 or visit www.principlegallery.com/alexandria.
Keep scrolling to see more samples from the show.
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