On the Road and In the Open Air
On display in the South Gallery of the Columbia Art League
12.2.25 - 1.3.26
Artist Statement
The American writer Wendell Berry wrote, “To live in a place and have your vision confined by it would be a mistake. But to live in a place and try to understand it as a standpoint from which to see, and to see from there as far as you can, is a proper challenge.” This notion – of trying to more completely understand the familiar – is something that continues to inspire my work and is the very essence of painting outside from life, or en plein air. It is a unique exercise and experience to stand in one place for many hours, allowing yourself to be absorbed in the moment and the place. To experience nature happening around you, watching the sun move across the sky, feeling the wind rise and fall again, smell different aromas permeate the air as the temperature changes and the ground warms and then cools again is transformative.
This collection of paintings was done largely from life, outdoors and on location either directly or from studies completed en plein air. While most are from locations here in Mid-Missouri, several were done from road trips across the middle of America including Kansas, Wisconsin and Colorado, featuring places that one could easily pass by and not give a second look. Those are the subjects that frequently catch my eye; how sunlight passes through leaves, or glints off a power line, or how streetlights cast different colored hues in the puddles of a wet street. It’s a powerful reminder that beauty is everywhere.
Artist Bio
Dr. Derek B. Fox is an artist from Columbia, MO who specializes in representational painting. He has a special interest in landscape painting either done en plein air or in studio from plein air sessions and photographs. Additionally, he regularly practices in both still life and portraiture. Dr. Fox is also a professor of Veterinary Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Missouri’s Veterinary Health Center. Over the course of his career, he has worked as a non-licensed medical illustrator in his field of specialty, illustrating over 75 manuscripts and textbook chapters. It was these early studies in anatomy that helped train him in drawing complex forms from life. He has studied landscape and plein air painting with several artists including Joe Paquet, Don Demers and Marc Anderson. Dr. Fox has won awards at several plein air competitions across the state and was a recipient of a SkyArts Portrait Artis of the Week award in 2020.
