Jackie Hinkson to show Plein Air Always at Arnim's

Artist Jackie Hinkson will display his Plein Air Always paintings at Arnim's Art Galleria Ltd, 27 Tragarete Road, Port of Spain, from October 14-31.

The artist will also be available for live interaction at the gallery during the exhibition.

On his passion for plein air, Hinkson said he is convinced that it is his childhood exposure to rural, coastal and urban light that drew him to this medium of painting and drawing.

"I was given further impetus in my teens when I saw the works of (Sybil) Atteck, (Carlisle) Chang, (Mahmoud P) Alladin, (Edwin Ou) Hing Wan, Leo Basso and many others in Art Society exhibitions in the old Woodbrook Market, and when I discovered in the Central Library the works of the Impressionists and 19th-century English watercolourists. I was astonished at the luminosity that can be achieved with this medium," Hinkson said in a media release.

He has been doing plein-air painting since approximately 1960, and for many years painted outdoors only in watercolour, he said.

"It remains for me the most exacting medium, but because it is a mainly transparent medium, allowing for very little over-layering of washes, it is perfectly suited to the tropics, where the rapidly changing light and other weather conditions demand the rapid execution of a painting. Since the 1970s I have embraced other media in my plein-air work, including Conté crayon, oils, acrylics, pen, charcoal, pastels, and in recent years the iPad."

Hinkson said he travels everywhere, and at all times with his sketchpad and pen, and has accumulated several thousands of sketches of inevitable variations in quality, over the past 30-plus years.

"Despite the increasing difficulty I face at age 82, to stand for three or more hours in conditions that may range from severe sun and heat to threatening rain, requiring the instant packing-up of a watercolour at the first drop, I remain committed to this methodology.

"I have seen the astonishing power of plein-air works by Turner, Cotman, Constable, Sargent, Homer, Hopper and by local artists like Rambissoon, Boodhoo, Holder, Sundiata, and O’Connor, and witnessed how their work captures light and universal themes that ensure the continued relevance of plein-air work. On the subject of light, to paraphrase the words of Derek Walcott: 'Artists are known for their light, not for their causes.'

"If some of the subjects in these works seem repetitive, as Derek Walcott also reminded us, 'Artists do not paint their subjects, they devour them.' I look forward to devouring more
en plein air."

Plein Air Always runs from 6 pm-9 pm on the opening night, and continues Monday-Friday, from 9 am-6 pm, and on Saturdays from 9 am-4 pm.

On October 26, there will be Conversations with Jackie, at which the artist will be in the gallery to chat with anyone who wants to engage him.