Plein Air with Soft Pastels
We as painters are always hoping for that next masterpiece. So, the question begs to be answered, “why paint plein air?”.
Randy Hamburg
Unison Colour Associate Artist
Unison Colour welcomes Randy Hamburg as an Associate Artist
Contemporary plein air impressionist Randy Hamburg, currently resides in Houston, Texas where he renewed his painting endeavors in earnest in the early 2000s. Growing up in eastern Mississippi, he was surrounded by nature’s beauty and spent much of his time putting what I saw to pencil and paper and occasionally pastels. Most of his early life was spent in the outdoors hunting and fishing with friends where he developed his love of nature.
Largely self-taught, in 2003 he began working with a friend and local artist using acrylics and oils. Neither of these mediums offered the freedom of expression he was looking for, so he began returning to his first love for pastels. He has worked almost exclusively in pastels ever since.
“I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t drawing. I believe that is why I work in pastels. Pastels allow me to combine drawing and painting in a way no other medium seems to offer. Combining that with my love for nature, I have just naturally gravitated to plein air painting. I enjoy working in the studio, but my greatest contentment is in the field.“
“I don’t just want to paint what I see; I want to paint what I feel and hope that the viewers of my paintings can feel those same emotions. Using my plein air studies provides reference for my studio works and I try to express those same emotions in larger works.”
Blog posts relating to Randy Hamburg
Announcing New Associate Artists!
In May we held a recruitment exercise for new Associate Artists and we were overwhelmed with the number of applications. So much so we will have 2 groups of new artists. Our 2nd group will be announced in August 2020.