Kelly's Farm by Bruce Newman

Kelly's Farm is  pastoral and painterly in style.  There's a certain sense of nostalgia about it for we are living in the era of the end of the barns.

Bruce takes us on a visual journey along a country road to an unknowable place in the upper right quadrant. This is the darkest area of his painting and its a place of  mystery where the road disappears and imagination begins.

I like how Bruce boxes this area in with of a  suggestion of a grey sloping roof and a larger building.
Notice how the horizontally placed barns, point strategically in that direction.

The painting is divided into horizontal thirds. There is an atmospheric zone with its blue sky and blue-green background hills. There are lightly colour fields and road and there is a middle zone with buildings and a windmill. 

We find within it a  progressive gradation of tone from the top and bottom and from the left towards the right,  where we find the the darkest area.  The movement of vision from right to left is blocked by the vertical windmill.

Bruce's work  is loaded with atmosphere. The blue sky gives way to blue green hills which move horizontally across the panorama and downward into the line of undulating hills. The long flow of landscape across the painting creates a beautiful feeling of peace and serenity. The softness Romantically supports the overall mystery of Kelly's Farm..

 Bruce's red barn is appropriately weather aged and the hue is perfect for it doesn't drawn unnecessary attention.

The brushwork and application of paint suits the mood and when all the pieces fit so perfectly together as they are in Kelly's Farm, you have a beautifully painted work. 

If you would like to see Bruce's other works, please click here to visit his site.

Bruce Newman - Perfecting a Swing with a Brush

Born in Yonkers, New York in 1948, Bruce spent most of his life in professional golf, construction management and real estate development before discovering art. Bruce taught drawing at the University of New Brunswick for three years and currently gives private drawing lessons in his studio and conducts occasional workshops. Most of his time, however, goes to painting, usually en plein air.

Bruce's primary influence has been Richard Schmid and he has studied his work thoroughly. In October, 2007, Bruce attended a week-long workshop with Albert Handell in Putney, VT. Handell is a world-renowned pastellist and oil painter and also a close friend of Schmid. In this intensive workshop, Bruce developed a deep fondness and respect for Albert and spent another week painting with him in Maine under a special mentorship program in September, 2008 and again in 2009.

In 2010, Bruce studied for a week with Marc Hanson in Taylors Falls, MN and in 2011, he was invited by Plein Air Magazine’s publisher, Eric Rhoads, to a private painting retreat in the Adirondack Mountains of New York where, along with 87 plein air painters from every corner of the US, he--the only Canadian--participated in producing approximately 700 plein air paintings over five days. This special group was named the Adirondack Mountain School Painters and has been featured in major US art publications. Bruce was again invited and attended in 2012 and is planning on taking part again in 2013.

"I regard plein air painting as the most demanding and rewarding painting approach because quick decisions and solid drawing skills are necessary to capture the fleeting moments of light and color. I also feel it is the most authentic method for me because I am capturing a real experience as it is happening. It is this experiential discovery that I love about painting directly from life."

Since 2003, most of Bruce’s work has been done en plein air or, literally, outside in the open air as shown in the photo above, and usually in one session. While still preferring to paint from life, he plans on balancing his schedule with more studio work in the future.

Although primarily a landscape painter, Bruce is also a former golf professional and amateur champion and paints memorable golf holes of Atlantic Canada. He offers framed, signed and numbered limited-edition Giclée reproductions which can be found on his website.

Bruce is a juried member of Oil Painters of America, Landscape Artists International, Gallery Connexion, Plein Air Painters of the Bay of Fundy, The Fredericton Society of Artists and The Fredericton Arts Alliance. He is represented by Harrison House Gallery, Saint John, NB. He has had five solo and numerous group exhibitions and his work is held in private collections across North America and Europe.

You are invited to visit Bruce's website to see his work. Please click here.