Deborah McAllister artistAfter a lifetime of moving around the US, I love living in Denver, and am most inspired by the landscape. I don’t have to travel far, maybe around town, or in the Colorado mountains. But a new environment is always irresistible to me.

Whenever I’m on vacation, my favorite activity is plein air painting, which involves setting up in an outdoor location and completing one or more paintings onsite. Some of these paintings are used as reference in the studio for larger paintings.

I paint in a loose, impressionistic style of realism. I enjoy portraying the feeling of light and time of day in a scene. Colors are emphasized, and sometimes exaggerated. Reality is a never ending source of fascination for me, and all of nature is my studio.

I have had the opportunity to paint in foreign countries, such as Ireland, England, Belize, Curacao. When I look at these paintings, it brings back the experiences I had while being there.

Each medium demands its own unique equipment for plein air painting. For oils, I have a painting box which holds paint, a palette, and a built in easel for panels or canvases. It attaches to an adjustable tripod so I can set it up quickly on any terrain. I have a couple of favorite painting umbrellas, specially made to work with my easel.

Affiliations: American Impressionist Society, Women Artists of the West, Signature membership in Plein Air Artists Colorado and Colorado Watercolor Society, Oil Painters of America.

To learn more visit: www.deborahmcallister.com