MAY 2008 - Rapid River Magazine

R A P I D R I V E R A R T S
FINE ART
Capturing of moments en plein air —
Jim Southerland Shows Works at
the Frame Shoppe and Gallery
A
rt is passion and
passion is art. This
statement holds true
with Black Mountain
resident Jim Southerland
who has been a
popular local artist for
over 10 years.
Last May in a book on art
he wrote, “Given time, a visual
artist can work in any medium.
So, by way of the art-making
process, I have a tendency to
be clever for the joy of it, and
so clever I have been, and
so full of joy the process of
making art remains.”
Like his writing, his
work is poetry, perhaps
not in motion, but moving
none-the-less. He manages
to capture a second
and gently holds it as if
the slightest breeze would
shatter its existence. That’s
what painting en plein air
is. It is using the mind’s
photograph of a moment; a
little fuzzy, a little muted,
yet there in its entirety
none-the-less.
Southerland prefers
working En plein air (a
French term that translates
to “in the open air”,
and is used to describe the act of painting
outdoors not the painting itself) to studio
work.
“No art experience equals the challenge
and joy of painting en plein air,”
says Southerland.
One could say his style is reminiscent
of the 19 century impressionist
French movement by such artists as
Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and
Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Except that statement
isn’t true taken just on face value.
Jim Southerland
“Morning” by Jim
Southerland
by Terence Stomp
Southerland’s work is more
modern, he doesn’t use brilliant
vivid colors the way
those French Masters used
them, and his body of work
focuses mostly on places not
people. A Renoir painting
is a romantic glimpse into a
time that will never happen
again (and perhaps never did).
Southerland’s work is more
bold and unpretentious,
accurately bringing the
viewer to a normal, safe
place and says “Here you
are. Now what are you
going to do?”
“Artistic style is
dependent on the ability
to observe,” says Southerland,
“interpret, and
respond through an honest,
perhaps undeniable,
individual connection to
the formal elements and
principles of visual art.”
Southerland’s work is
passionate and powerful
and will be a part of the
Asheville area and American
art for decades, perhaps
centuries to come.
If you’d like to see Jim Southerland’s
work visit Asheville Frame Shoppe and
Gallery this May.
“Island on Tomahawk“
by Jim Southerland
Painting by Jim Southerland
Frame Shoppe & Gallery
1378 Hendersonville Rd. (Inside the
Harris Teeter Shopping Center)
Asheville • (828) 274-3635
www.frameshoppeandgallery.com
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Vol. 11, No. 9 — Rapid River ArtS & CULTURE Magazine — May 2008