From the bright sandy shores of Malta throughout Canada, the US and Europe, Edward Abela’s plein air paintings capture the beauty of nature in brief, impressionistic glimpses of color, light and shadow.
Edward typically uses a combination of bright hues and simplified compositions to elevate his landscapes and effortlessly draw the viewer’s eye through the visual space of his paintings.
In Trastevere II, for example, we peer down a cobblestone lane amidst tightly packed buildings of pink, orange, yellow, and red. A thickly-painted group of potted plants anchor the walls of the alley at one corner, while draped awnings, clotheslines, and a wrought-iron lamp extend out into the space above the narrow street.
Even the cool blue cobblestones and purple-accented shadows were carefully chosen to contrast the bright, warm colors of the sun-lit walls and push the space within the painting as far as it could go.
Leaving the packed streets of Europe, we come to Ireland, Dingle Peninsula in the late afternoon, where scrubby brush and red earth slowly transform into green and purple hills before a glimmering, sun-swept sea.
As before, Edward’s marvelous use of color (warm in the foreground, cool in the distance) pulls us deeper and deeper into this beautiful painting, and reminds us of the vast, sweeping vistas the natural world has to offer.
Lastly, in St. Julian’s Bay, you can almost feel the warmth radiating from the intensely blue sky, bouncing off the water, and landing as brilliant sunshine on brightly painted boats bobbing in the harbor.
If you’d like to see the rest of Edward Abela’s paintings, please take a moment to visit his art website and explore his entire portfolio.
In addition to more plein air pieces like the ones above, you’ll also see his work from the American Southwest, several commissioned paintings of antique cars, and a large selection of watercolors that should not be missed!
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