Exploring Tahiti, French Polynesia
Plein air pochade - Pastel on Japanese Kasuiri Kozo Bark Hand Laid Paper©copyright Phyllis O'Shields 2010
This pochade was done on a beach in Tahiti, French Polynesia. The same land that Paul Gauguin painted on.
These first studies are quickly done to become familiar with my surroundings. Later days produced plein air seascapes, figurative studies and landscapes.
Later this week I will begin posting my series of Figurative French Polynesian Goddesses. You can see today the same things that Gauguin saw in his paintings, a land very much unchanged.
Tahiti offers a true Paradise today just as in Gauguin’s time, making it perfect for the artist to backpack into the wild mountains or paint along the lagoons and beaches. The colours are unlike any other group of islands. . When working en plein air in the islands I like to use rough Kasuiri, Kozo Bark hand laid paper from Japan which has texture that adds to the environment on the beach. Often I finish with a mixture of sand and bugs on the paper. It is very forgiving when using en plein air.
These sketches will be used in a series of my plein air explorations of islands recorded in journals. They are going into a current book under construction now.
Phyllis O'Shields Contemporary Impressionism Artist Miami
Mahalo for visiting....
