Portfolio > Lou Posner: The Interface Between Life and Art

Posner painted Hammonasset Beach on Sunday on location at Hammonasset Beach in Connecticut, setting up his easel amid the activity of a crowded beach. Children gathered around to watch him work, and one boy asked Posner to put him in the painting. Posner looked at the boy’s swimsuit, dipped his brush into green paint, and added a tiny dab to the canvas. As Posner recalled: “Voila!”

The painting’s somewhat pointillistic, highly brushy technique captures what Posner described as “the shimmering energy of a crowded beach.” Hundreds of small strokes and dabs of color turn the beachgoers, towels, umbrellas and scattered belongings into a lively field of movement, while the broad water and sky provide a calmer backdrop.