It was an ordinary day. Visiting a friend's home when I picked up a catalog from their living room table that featured a beautiful painting on the cover. It looked as if it had been painted in the 'en plein air' method which is a French method which translates to "painting outdoors".
The beautiful pastel colors of the Summer LL Bean catalog instantly reminded me of an artist Carol and I had gotten to know over the past twenty years who lives and paints on the Caribbean island known as St. Martin. We met Sir Roland Richardson, known as "The father of Caribbean impressionism" on our second trip to the island in 2004 when we walked into his gallery in the French town of Marigot.  |
| Sir Roland Richardson with one of his paintings. |
This very tall, thin fellow with a wonderful accent greeted us and before long we were exploring his studio as well as talking to him about his technique of painting known as 'en plein air.' He loved to spend his days at different locations throughout the 34 square mile island in the Caribbean Sea, painting the scenes that he is lucky enough to see every day of his life and share with those who aren't as lucky to do so themselves.  |
| Sir Roland signing a copy of one of his prints for us. |
We had the chance to see his studio as well as his rear yard that featured a building that at one time was a barracks that housed horses for the island's army. Today we have two of his paintings hanging in our home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Well, the painting on the cover of the LL Bean catalog was a reminder of his technique with the warm colors and soft shades blended together with remarkable softness.  |
| Newspaper story which featured artwork of Lou Schellenberg. |
Recently, in the Lancaster Sunday News, was a large image of the LL Bean cataglog cover on the front page of the newspaper's Entertainment Section. The story told about a local artist by the name of Lou Schellenberg who was the artist of the cover. She was a professional artist, landscape painter and teacher who has had paintings exhibited in museums, colleges and non-profits as well as commercial galleries across the Eastern United States as well as Canada. Locally, she has been exhibited in the Lancaster Museum of Art as well as The Demuth Museum. She moved to the Lancaster area over 20 years ago when she accepted a teaching position at Elizabethtown College, where she taught for 20 years. She said that the area's rich history with art, the supportive community and little gems such as the Demuth Museum kept her in Lancaster County. She is also a founding member of the Mount Gretna School of Art and recently joined the esteemed Echo Valley Group. The painting that graces the cover of the LL Bean catalog she titled "The Path Ahead" which depicts a house painted a warm yellow with cool lavender and coral shadows under the eaves in the foreground, with lush brushstrokes representing the effect of a gentle breeze weaving through the waving grass and wildflowers while in the distance are smaller buildings with shadows and fading light playing over them. The newspaper story quotes her as saying that "I like painting in hidden, unexpected spots and looking at little neighborhood houses and their yards. Sometimes I'll walk into narrow streets and set up and do work on paper. I love being outside. I might even love being outside as much as painting. When my wife saw the cover of the LL Bean catalog for the first time, she too noticed the similarity between the paintings of Lou Schellenberg and Sir Roland Richardson; both painters in the 'en plein air' method. I guess we need to purchase a print from Lou to add to our collection. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  |
One of Lou Schellenberg's paintings
at the "Art Of the State Exhibit in Harrisburg, PA |
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