A Portfolio of Plein Air Paintings by Bryan Coombes
Spirits of the West, acrylic on canvas
Painter Bryan Coombes is inspired by the world around him, whether it’s a vast forested landscape, or rusting antique car. The artist’s body of work focuses on plein air paintings, with subject matter inspired by Bryan’s previous work as a pilot, mountaineer, and photographer.
Bryan’s figurative paintings, especially those of familiar outdoor spaces -- roads, towns, and forests -- have a lovely sense of familiarity about them. Even if you’ve never been to the location in question, the artist’s painterly, slightly gestural style helps foster a sense that these scenes could be taking place almost anywhere. That painterly plein air style also reminds me of fellow painters like Michael Gaudreau.
The front page of Bryan's portfolio website
I particularly enjoy Bryan’s nighttime scenes -- the artist has a remarkable eye for depicting firelight, with showers of sparks rendered in the perfect shades of orange and yellow, laid down in a splattering pattern that lends an edge of abstraction to the works.
