David M.
Cornell 
My interest in
landscape painting began while growing up in
the Sierra Nevada mountains of Northern
California, where I studied oil painting for
six years under Marion Letton, a California
landscape artist. I followed the study of art
during my high school and college years, and
continued to paint in oils and watercolors
while serving with the U.S. Air Force. In
that capacity, I had the opportunity to
sketch and paint in many foreign countries
while observing the techniques used by their
local artists. Since 1987, I have
participated in plein air painting workshops
in Colorado, Missouri and Illinois. My
current inventory of landscape oils were
painted from scenes in Arizona, California,
Colorado, Illinois, Missouri and New Mexico.
Today I have a body of work approximating 90
original landscape paintings. I am a founding
member of the Missouri Plein Air
Painters’ Association, and belong to the
Gateway East Artists’ Guild, the
Northern Missouri Arts Council, and the
Highland Arts Council. I have recently
participated in a number of local exhibits
and art events including: Artists Along The
Katy Trail, Augusta Missouri Art Show,
Highland Illinois Silver Lake art Show, the
Gateway East Artists’ Guild Winter Art
Show, Studio 111 Miniatures Exhibit
(O’Fallon, Illinois), Componere Gallery
Art Show (St. Louis Misssouri), Clarksville
and Marceline Missouri Paint-Outs, Lebanon
Illinois Methodist Church Fine Arts Series,
Shaw Nature Reserve Plein Air Artists’
Exhibit, and the St Louis Central West End
Art Show. I like to get out at least once a
week to paint with other plein air artists,
under a variety of weather conditions. This
holds a special fascination for me because
each outing is filled with spontaneity and
surprise. In addition to the never-ending
learning process, these paint-outs provide
stimulating opportunities for exchange of
ideas and constructive criticism by fellow
artists and interested observers.
Artist
Statement
When painting
landscapes on location, I value essence over
precision in shape and form, and rely on my
senses to get the feeling and mood of the
place. I try to capture the sun’s warmth
on a meadow, the coolness of shadows in a
forest, or the cold sparkle of snow on a
winter day. Studio work has great merit, but
I prefer the challenges of plein air
painting. For me painting directly from
nature adds the realism of constantly
changing patterns of light and shadow, with
overall impressions of the scene influenced
by surrounding sights and sounds, and the
natural elements of temperature, wind and
weather. I also believe that plein air
painting helps me capture the spontaneity of
a scene that exists but for a passing moment
in time, much like recording a treasured
event in a visual diary.
