The Maltese coast provides endless possibilities of exploration for lovers of the outdoors. It is also popular among local photographers and painters. This is particularly true for a group of artists who have come together to form the Plein Air Painters of Malta (PAPM) group.

The popularity of painting en plein air is no doubt due to the magnificence of Malta’s natural and built environment, but also due to a rediscovery of the pleasures of experiencing the outdoors, making the different atmospheric conditions more palpable when viewing such paintings. It also attests to the popularity and demand for verism in works of art and being true to nature.

The PAPM painters often collaborate together and support each other’s endeavours. Three of them have been brought together by gallerist Christine Xuereb Seidu who curated a collective exhibition consisting of 20 works, titled Seaesta. They are Andrew Smith, Sarah Calleja and Anthony Weitz. The three artists share the same ethos and all three are prolific in the genre of landscape painting.

Although not full time painters, it emerges clear that they have mastered their medium of choice: watercolour for Smith and Calleja and oil for Weitz. They expertly convey the atmospheric conditions of the various times of the day with a broad palette. The result is no doubt also evocative of the artist’s mood.

The exhibition title refers to the break that these paintings provide for their audience when viewing them. But this was certainly not the case for the painters who had to withstand the heat, cold, wind and more, when executing these works. This is because all of these works were produced on location, or en plein air.

The title also refers to the sea, thus narrowing down the paintings that could be exhibited from those painted on location. They are in themselves, however, very diverse. This because each of the works portrays a different viewpoint of part of Malta’s vast coastline, a subject that these artists never seem to get enough of.

Smith is, in fact, a founding member of the PAPM. Moreover, in May 2015, he was invited by the president of the International Watercolour Society (IWS) to set up the Malta branch. His paintings are very fluid and translucent and they are executed with a good dose of dry brush. Atmosphere is also adequately conveyed, such as in Msida Harbour.

Sarah Calleja is a freelance architect who has received training in a variety of artistic genres and media, but feels confident in the challenges that painting en plein air poses. Calleja’s watercolour paintings are characterised by a free handling of the medium, where line is as important as colour.

Line, moreover, gives structure to the otherwise fluid compositions. Ġnejna is evocative of her more abstract style, while Majjistral Park is bolder and betrays her good draughtsmanship skills.

Weitz’s paintings have a coarser texture as a result of the use of oil technique as opposed to watercolour. His expressionistic application of paint allows for a coherent snapshot, one that is executed without him getting lost in too much detail, but the result is nonetheless realistic.

When one zooms in on a small section of each of his works, Weitz’s brushwork can be better appreciated. This can be almost pointillist in its application, such as in Sunrise Colours, St Paul’s Island, while broader strokes make up White Rocks: Coast Road. In his works, one often sees a repoussoir element that leads the eye deep into the composition. His confidence with colour is acutely sensitive, as is visible in Sunrise Rocks: Bajja tal-Għażżenin, St Paul’s Bay.

Unlike a portrait or still life, the scene before en plein air painters is a quickly changing one: a few minutes for a sunset, a moving boat and so on. And thus, the artist needs to be equally quick in capturing it, increasing the difficulty in producing a satisfying piece.

Although the exhibition venue was a restaurant, and not all of the works were easily visible, it was a worthwhile endeavour, one that was governed by the paintings’ high level of execution.

Seaesta showed at the Orange Grove, Corinthia Palace Hotel and Spa in Attard.

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