Plein Aire Painting
by
Neil Sherman
Sunday, April 18 through Sunday, May 30, 2010
Being out in nature is one of artist Neil Sherman’s greatest passions. This graduate of Saint John’s University says, “Painting has become an extension of my experiencing the outdoors.”
Plein Aire, a French expression meaning “in the open air,” is used to describe the act of painting outdoors, capturing outdoor light and a particular moment in time.
Sherman is a landscape painter who lives and works in Grand Marais, Minnesota. He will introduce his work at the Whitby Gift Shop and Gallery at Saint Benedict’s Monastery on Sunday, April 18, 2010, at 2 p.m.
Sherman explains that painting out in nature is not easy. He says it requires empathy and a disciplined work ethic. “You must be able to maintain enthusiasm when you run up against a wall, knowing that struggle is part of the process. It is when you surmount the wall that the great prize is revealed to you: knowledge and experience. Without empathy, enthusiasm, knowledge and experience, great painting doesn’t exist.” Sherman always tries to capture the emotion of the day in his work. While technique is important, Sherman says, “Finding the greater truths in nature are what move me to paint.” His subject matter is diverse and ranges from a view of the regrowth on the Gunflint Trail to a snapshot of a northwoods bar in the trees.
Sherman graduated from Saint John’s University in 1992 and went on to study at the Minnesota River School of Fine Arts in Burnsville, Minnesota, and then at the Hurinenko and Paquet Studio in St. Paul, Minnesota. He has been involved in many group exhibitions nationwide, including the Door County Plein Air Festival in Wisconsin and the Greenhouse Gallery in San Antonio, Texas. He has had solo exhibitions at the Vern Carver and Beard Galleries in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and at the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota.
For an online gallery of Neil Sherman's work, click here.
The show at Art and Heritage Place’s Whitby Gallery will include a variety of recent works by Sherman. An opening reception will be held on Sunday, April 18, 2010, from 2–4 p.m. The exhibit runs through May 30. Hours for the gallery on the campus of Saint Benedict’s Monastery are Tuesday – Friday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., and Saturday – Sunday, 1–3:30 p.m. The gallery is closed Mondays.