If you are looking for a way to explain the difference between Plein air painting and studio painting, Jay Brooks, an artist from Monticello, New York, finally offered the perfect perspective.
“The ‘quick glance’ (when you quickly glance), the brain remembers the bright cadmium red, for instance, and you have an exaggerated view of the scene. Scientifically, when one glances, rather than stares at something, the rods and cones of the eye are stimulated in such a way that you get heightened color and contrast, but if you keep looking at it, the image becomes less so.”
This method of Plein air painting is not taught but rather developed through an artist’s encounter with a project. The definition of color and tone takes center stage, but for a moment, changing the overall look of the scene. Brooks’ oil painting “Brooklyn Navy Yard” catches the eye immediately with the detail, shadows, and the perfection in the lack of lighting. This piece was done on a panel, as are many of his oil paintings.
As an accomplished landscape Plein air artist, Jay began his career at the tender age of 14 under the apprenticeship of John Piesley and later with Charles Movalli. He earned his B.F.A. from Carnegie-Mellon University and an M.F.A. from Columbia University in 1988 and 1990.
Brooks stayed within the confines of city life and worked on cityscapes while teaching in New York City. However, his earlier roots of upper state New York and the rolling hills called him to return home. In 1993, Jay accepted an art instructor teaching job at the high school in Monticello, NY, and continues to this day.
Asked about his passion for Plein air painting as opposed to still life, Jay shares, “I gave it up (Plein Air painting) for almost 15 years, concentrating instead on studio painting. It’s hard to raise a family and be roaming the countryside at the same time. I wanted to slow down and experiment with different techniques.”
When artist Brooks learned of his past mentor’s passing in 2016, Charles Movalli, he felt it a fitting time to delve back into Plein air painting as a type of tribute to his teacher’s memory. Many of this mentor’s teachings came pouring back to him and he grabbed it with gusto. The quick glance impression and desire to work within this method, the competitive Plein air juries and the public and private lessons soon grew to sustain his dream of art and contentment.
A recent showing at the River Gallery in Narrowsburg, New York, Brooks has also shown his work regularly in the Chelsea area of New York City, Lambertville New Jersey, Cody, Wyoming, Rochester, New York and Sullivan County New York.
For more information on his work see: https://www.jaybrooksartist.com/.