Local Plein Air Artist Ruth Vines

I am very pleased to introduce you to plein air artist Ruth Vines. Ruth and I have been showing together during the last few First Friday Art Walk events in downtown Daytona Beach with the Volusia County Art Consortium. The Volusia County Art Consortium is a group of artists and fine crafters who work together to promote and support each other in our creative endeavors. It is a real pleasure to watch Ruth paint. "In my paintings I try to capture the light and its effects on the subject. I love painting local scenes in the plein air tradition. I used to work from photos, but discovered that there are so many more colors and details to be seen when on location.
I don’t have to travel very far, there is beauty around us, every step we take. The local marinas, old houses and the tropical scenery provide possible paintings every minute of the day, and I feel lucky to live here.­"


For those who are not familiar with plein air painting, Ruth has a wonderful explanation:
Plein air is a term derived from the French phrase en plein air, which literally means ‘in the open air’. It’s a familiar concept today, but in the late 1800s when the Impressionists ventured out of their studios into nature to investigate and capture the effects of sunlight and different times of days on a subject, it was quite revolutionary. Plein air painting used to be just a means to an end, with the artist painting small studies on location, to use the information gathered about color, shadow effects, etc. for a larger, elaborate painting that was going to be executed in the studio. Nowadays, however, it is a stand-alone art form and is used to produce finished paintings. It is quite an experience to be outside in nature, feeling the heat, the wind, hearing the birds and encountering wildlife, while trying to capture a scene on canvas. With the sun shifting - and thus changing the shadows and light effects - you only have a window of about 2-3 hours at most before the scene changes completely due to the natural course of the sun. So in addition to enduring heat or cold, wind, bugs, curious wildlife and/or tourists, you have a limited time frame to put down your artistic statement.

Ruth has painted at one my favorite places to visit in Volusia County, the Sugar Mill Gardens. Here is one of her beautiful paintings from the site.



Ruth is now accepting commissions. Imagine your neighborhood or local scenery, your home, your boat, or a favorite vacation spot as an original oil painting. Ruth prefers to paint on site, but can also work from photos and sketches. Ruth Vines 386-451-6857 krautgraphics @ gmail.com