En Plein Air - the results are in...

...and I didn't win. In fairness, my work today wasn't good enough and the best painting on the day won even if I did hear a couple of murmurs of discontent over the subject matter the artist had chosen. Ultimately the painting was the most complete, the least error strewn and the painter was the one who dealt with the strict time limit the best. In short, it was the only painting there that looked even close to being worth the very generous prize. I'm good for nothing right now, but I'll look up the artist's name tomorrow because she probably deserves a post to herself.

[edited Wed 17: The winner is Harriet Brittaine - see my later post for links]

It was an interesting experience and one completely new to me. Indeed, it is almost the opposite of the way I work and that alone would be enough to make it useful. The format was turn up, get given a list of four sites to choose from between 10 and 10:30, set up and think, paint from 11 to 2, clear up, hand the work in at 2:30, the work is on display in the busiest part of Windsor from 3 to 5 and a bit after 4 prizes were handed out. By contrast, my modus operandi is to go for a walk, spot something interesting and photograph it, let it stew for a couple of months then return several times over the following months, sketching and re-photographing before blitzing a batch of paintings in the studio finishing them at an average of one a week. Exercises that break these habits lead to rapid personal and artistic growth so I may repeat the scheme. It won't be futile, the judges returned to my painting a clear half dozen times and spent a long time talking, pointing and smiling (incidentally, pointing and smiling is good, pointing and laughing isn't!) so I can't have been far off for all my painting's problems.

One thing that puzzles me every time I stop and listen, as i did today, to punters at an exhibition is their perception of quality. I'm not going to claim status as an arbiter of taste, but again and again it seems that people either can't recognise or don't care about the difference between a skilful, intelligent, inventive and rigorous piece and an unskilled and thoughtless piece. You could almost suppose people's taste in art is more punk than you might expect, its about the immediate reaction not the build quality. You could suppose that, until you stop to consider the winner of the people's choice prize. Let me be clear, this is not an attack on the winner of this prize today - for what it was it was as well executed as you could hope for within the time limit. What it wasn't, however, was unusual, inventive or imaginative. It showed Windsor Castle from its most famous viewpoint and presented it in the way closely related to the way it is usually shown. In other words, the favourite piece voted by about 100 locals and tourists was the piece that gave what they already knew, a well made visual equivalent to comfort food perhaps. An interesting observation, and it bodes well for when my skyline paintings hit the gallery!

So, an interesting day in many ways. I learnt about myself, I learnt more about the taste of the man on the Clapham Omnibus, and I began to learn a different and useful way of working. The event is a serious opportunity if its repeated next year - the first prize was £500, the field was quite small and the standard was very variable so anyone with proper skills has a serious chance. If there is anything similar close to you I recommend it without reservation - there will be people of all abilities so don't be shy.