Landscapes in Online Gaming? Meet the Artists of Plein Air Painting

This exhibition explores and challenges our notion of landscape painting by asking: is this the future of landscape painting as we know it? A number of years ago while talking with artist Connor Kenney, he revealed that he was engaging in plein air painting while gaming, taking time to document the landscapes in the video games he was playing. I was fascinated by this on so many levels as it seemed to me, for Connor, that there was little or no separation between the real landscape outside his home and the ones depicted in the virtual world he was immersed in.En plein air is a French expression meaning “in the open air,” and has up to this point referred to the act of painting outdoors with the artist’s subject in full view. In doing so, artists are able to capture the spirit, essence, and the subtle nuances of the landscape or subject as it is a dynamic environment, constantly moving and changing with the light and environmental conditions.Over the course of the exhibition, the games they have drawn their inspiration from will be on display for the public to try their hand at. Connor and fellow artist Clifford Kamppari-Miller will both be in Penticton to talk about their work and to host a workshop.This event also runs on Sunday Sept 13 between 11-4 pm.