Artist Statement

The term “ en plein air” was used to describe Claude Monet and the Impressionists in France to describe those painting in the “open air” or “outside.” I took up plein air painting shortly before the pandemic out of a desire to reconnect with nature. I immediately discovered that concentrating on a single landscape until my painting was completed was meditative and incredibly calming.

Keeping my portable easel and paints ready in my car, I often stopped and painted any scene that inspired me.  Since I created an entire studio to fit inside a small backpack, I was free to paint high up a mountain, across the rocks on a beach, or while paddling in my kayak.  Plein air painting has become a form of creative outdoor recreation, enabling me to find connection in times of social distancing and isolation. I travel to new places to paint, meet the beings that reside there and find much more joy than when alone in my studio. 

Unlike painting in the studio, painting outdoors allows the artist to better represent the true colors of a scene, the form of shapes, and the feel of a landscape.  But plein air poses certain unique challenges to the artist; the ever-changing light and shadows, the weather, the insects and the abundance of detail among many. I pushed myself to discover the representational elements of the landscape and framed them around an abstract painting of the sky. I see the sky as an area in the painting where I can do anything I want. My work is based on obviously recognizable elements around British Columbia, but the viewer can also sense that I have fun as a painter, too. My skies give me complete freedom of expression and exude the vibration, feeling of buoyancy and lightness that comes from taking a deep breath of fresh air.  I am drawn to painting landscapes, especially ones that have not been changed by heavy human influence. I find that being in those unpopulated places provides some sort of healing or respite from the busy life I lead as an elementary school teacher. When out painting, I am absorbing all of that, but also doing something that I’m really passionate about. With plein air painting, I want the viewer to see through the superficiality we place on the natural world around us, perhaps looking at a tree as being so much more than a mere resource. Through my art, I get close to the big philosophical questions in life and invite the viewer to find meaning in a fallen leaf, hear the history of an ancient stone, and float alongside me en plein air.

Artist Biography

Shannon Thiesen is an award winning visual artist living in Coquitlam, B.C. She is also a 5th grade teacher at Abbotsford School of Integrated Arts, North Poplar campus. Live painting competitions saw Thiesen representing BC at the 2016 and 2017 Art Battle Canada National Championships in Toronto. She is also the 2016 Young Distinguished Alumni award winner from the University of the Fraser Valley and the 2016 Abbotsford Arty Award winner in visual arts. She recently graduated with a Masters of Education degree from SFU in Imaginative Education and has completed several massive outdoor murals in the lower mainland in recent years. Her favourite subject matter includes West Coast plein air landscapes, portraiture and other organic subjects. Thiesen thrives when painting in a public setting and often uses non-traditional tools and surfaces when creating her wildly expressive and energetic paintings. She hopes to inspire each student she teaches to follow their passion, take risks and use their imaginations to make change in the world.

Find Shannon online:

Instagram @shanthiesen
Facebook @Custom Artwork: Shannon Thiesen
Twitter  @ThiesenArt
YouTube Shannon Thiesen Art