By Rebecca Pikus
Mandy Main’s paintings are dreamy & romantic Landscapes that are reminiscent of an earlier era of Impressionist art. Her current theme of the Western Landscape explores the qualities of light and atmospheric perspective. Mandy’s art alternates between landscapes inspired by 19th century American Luminists and her own abstracted contemporary vision.
“I paint luminous oil paintings of the Western Landscape, informed by nature and capturing a personal sense of place. I focus on panoramic vistas and receding perspectives, with a sense of depth and movement and I push these elements to draw the viewer into the painting. The fleeting nature of light and clouds become dramatic subjects in my work. I am an Art Historian and my passion is 19th century American landscapes, especially the Luminists, whose works remain an undying source of inspiration. The work is dreamy and atmospheric, a view into traditional art history with a modern sensibility.”
Mandy’s paintings are oil on canvas or wood panels –and she uses a subdued palette of warm colors, applied in layer after layer of glazes to achieve a “luminous effect”. This process takes many weeks to create. Mandy works in a series — usually 6 paintings at a time — in her Rancho Mirage studio, where she paints in silence and total concentration. Her paintings are a spiritual outpouring….”A part of my inner being is woven into every painting I create.”
Mandy Main has a BA in Art History from Stanford University, as well as an MBA in Arts Management from UCLA. She has exhibited extensively in California, Oregon, & Washington, as well as NYC and Vancouver, Canada. Mandy has also received numerous Awards in these same locales. She has an impressive list of public and private Collectors, and has been featured in many Publications. Mandy has also been selected to be one of the featured artists in the upcoming First Annual Rancho Mirage Tour of Artists Homes & Studios on April 12, 2014.
Mandy also belongs to the school of “En Plain Air” artists, which is a perfect adjunct to her Western Landscapes. “En Plain Air” is a French Expression which means “in the open air”. Artists have long painted outdoors, but this practice took off in the mid-19th century. Its popularity increased in the 1890s with the introduction of paints in tubes (resembling modern toothpaste tubes). Previously, each painter made their own paints by grinding & mixing dry pigment powders with linseed oil. During this period, the “Box Easel”, or “field easel” was invented. With the advent of box easels, and paint tubes, artists now had portable supplies & equipment to enable them to make trips into the forest, or up the hillsides, or in the expansive fields, or to lake & sea locations to work first-hand in nature itself, rather than in an indoor studio.
French Impressionists such as Monet, Pissarro, and Renoir advocated ‘en plein air’ paintings, where diffused outdoor light was available. In the late 19th century, Russian painters such as Polenov, Levitan, Serov, Korovin & Graber were known for ‘en plein air’ painting. American Impressionists such as Rose, Wood, Morgan, Gamble, & Gilbert became outdoor painting enthusiasts.
Mandy Main’s paintings can be seen in the upcoming Artwalk on El Paseo, Fri. March 7, 2014 from 5-10pm, AND THE FIRST ANNUAL RANCHO MIRAGE TOUR OF ARTISTS HOMES & STUDIOS ON SAT. APRIL 12, 2014. For further information, Contact Mandymainstudios@yahoo.com, or view Mandy’s website: www.mandymainstudios.com or call Rebecca Pikus, Tel (760) 534-5888
