The name of the Missouri Valley Impressionist Society (MVIS) sounds like a regional organization, but membership is actually open to artists from everywhere. Actual physical exhibits are held only in states in the Missouri River watershed, but otherwise the organization is a national one. Most exhibitions are limited to members.
The 10th Annual Juried Art Show by members opened last weekend at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art in St. Joseph, Missouri. This year I was honored that my plein air oil, "Upstream, April Light" (below) was juried into the exhibition. It's a painting of Druid Hill Creek, which flows north just outside my studio. When this was painted the honeysuckle that drapes the banks is spring green against darker trunks, shadows and leaf litter, so much so it almost glows. This work was painted on the spot, outdoors. It was a pleasant, soft spring day with warm sun and a gentle zephyr of a breeze. One of the exhilarating challenges of outdoor painting is trying to capture the fleeting moment, the flash of bright leaves against dull backgrounds, the ripple of smooth water over a rocky bottom, all set off by subtle shadows. Sometimes as you're painting you think, "this is never going to work," but thank goodness a lot of the time it does. This one was fun, once it was finished.
This year's the MVIS Juried show runs through the new year, to January 9th. It's a beautiful show. Other plein air works from last year and this are collected on my website. www.garyhoff.com/collections/pleinair.
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| "Upstream, April Light," oil on panel, 9x12, currently available |
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