Artists are often asked the question, “What inspires you?” It’s a simple question but also a loaded one, because for many artists, inspiration can be anywhere and everywhere all at once. Sometimes, the most challenging part is sifting through the cacophony of stimuli in order to distill it down to something tangible—turning experience into art.
California Story, pastel, 24 x 30”
Posing that question to pastelist W. Truman Hosner, without hesitation, he says, “Life itself. No kidding! That’s why I paint from life almost exclusively, never from photos. That way my paintings become a performance of experience whereby I try to put everything I’ve learned into play over a fixed period of time to express the ‘feeling’ of the life I am witnessing.”
To accomplish that goal, Hosner needs to paint on location.
Rancho Salinas, pastel, 8 x 10”
Beginning this November, new plein air works by Hosner will be featured during a solo show at Claggett/Rey Gallery. The show spotlights 12 works created this past spring from a series called Life in San Miguel, Quintessential California. The series delves into the artist’s experiences living on the central coast of California where he spends most of his winters. The exhibition will also include a wide range of plein air paintings from his travels in France, Spain and Detroit (Hosner spends his summers and autumns in Michigan).
San Miguel is a little town just north of Hosner’s winter home of Paso Robles, California. “Originally, I went to San Miguel to paint because of the Old Mission San Miguel Arcángel,” he says. “It is one of a line of missions that were a [day’s] ride apart by horseback. Established in California by Spanish missionaries, the mission no longer houses friars and is now used as a parish church in the Monterey Diocese.”
Daily Ranch’s Committee, pastel, 8 x 10”
Hosner adds that the town of San Miguel has a rich history, and uncovering these bits of information continuously piques his interest. “The Elk Horn Bar…has a history going back to when the calvary from Fort Roberts used to ride down to drink there. For a brief time, the mission was also a barracks for the Mexican Army…[Today], the San Miguel community remains heavily Hispanic, and the people are extremely polite…San Miguel still carries the flavor of quintessential California.”
Local Favorite, pastel, 8 x 10”
He continues, “[In this series, I was] trying to capture the essence of the town as it exists today, observing the life, town, mission and surrounding area using the nature of the light to tell the story. I believe only the open air painting experience can honestly achieve that goal.”
An artist reception will be held at Claggett/Rey Gallery on November 17 from 5 to 8 p.m. The exhibition runs November 15 to December 15.
“If you experience a feeling in one of my paintings that you can carry with you, and ten years later it is that feeling you remember—that’s the magic of art,” says Hosner. “And I have been successful.” —
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