Artists practice plein air to capture loss of historic Sutliff Bridge
September 24, 2008 · Jake Krob

Using an art tradition that began in the early 19th Century, local artists travelled to Sutliff this summer to capture an historic event. Their pieces will be presented at Michael Alan Jewelry in uptown Mount Vernon, opening Friday and coinciding with the Lincoln Highway Arts Festival this Saturday.

The artists' works focus on the historic Sutliff Bridge, a third of which was lost in the Flood of 2008. Works by artists Hugh Lifson, Mark Benesh, Sue Coleman, James Evans and Katrina Garner will be at Michael Alan until Nov. 5.

After the flood struck the historic bridge, artists spent time as a group painting plein air (open air) paintings to, as Lifson said, "capture the moment."

Garner said she was among the many who saw photos and read stories about the collapse of the bridge but "I would not have thought to capture it" in art, until Lifson suggested the project. Garner created two pastel works to be presented at Michael Alan Jewelry.

The practice of artists leaving their studios began in the early 19th Century. Another occurrence in the art world was when artists began capturing disaster, such as in 1834 when J.M.W. Turner sat on the banks of the Thames to make watercolor notes of the burning of the houses of Parliament.

Lifson said he knew local artists were interested in gathering for plein air experiences, so he gathered them after the floods took part of the Sutliff Bridge. He has seven pieces resulting from the experience.

He and Garner both said they enjoy being in the outdoors working with other artists.

"We're kind of isolated in our studios," Lifson said.

The show at Michael Alan, he added, is a way to show local artists' interpretations of one part of the destruction from the flood.

"We feel our internal compulsion to make art," he said. "When there's a sharing of it, so much the better."