DAVID MAYERNIK
LTD.

I've been drawing and painting en plein air (in the field) for forty years, in Europe and America, but mostly in Italy. In gardens and cities, by the sea and in the mountains, I have been lucky to spend time carefully looking at exemplary environments. Informed by my study of the Old Master tradition, working within the two hour window of time that Valenciennes recommended in the eighteenth century, I've also developed my own unique manner. This discipline of working on site as the light allows is what  sponsors my works' spontaneity and freshness.

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My plein air subjects often balance architecture and nature, exploring the poignant ways these two environments interact; in other words, I seek out landscapes that evoke the same issues that interested Corot. I look for structure in the landscape, and brilliant chiaroscuro. In watercolor I'm interested in balancing translucency with contrast, juxtaposing transparent washes with saturated color and shadows. In oil I typically work on a traditional toned ground, modeling lights and darks from this middle value range while relying on the ground to read through when the architecture allows.