Harryet: The opportunity to participate in your workshop would be such an amazing experience! How do you teach the enjoyment of color and light in painting? What will be the goal for the students? Angela Manno: The most enjoyable part of my teaching, I think, is the actual heightened perception of color. Students leave after the first day noticing more colors than they ever had before. The trained eye is capable of seeing thousands of color variations. The goal for my students is to perceive true color in the landscape, or even inan indoor still life, and begin to translate that into their paintings. My next workshop will be in Charlotte, Vermont in autumn, which will present a great opportunity for participants to enliven their art no matter what their level of expertise. You are primarily a painter, so what made you decide to teach and give lectures? Angela: The image evokes emotions at the heart level, but the word reaches the intellect. I am a natural teacher and so want my message to be as clear as possible. I am speaking now about my classes and writings in ecological spirituality. My art classes are a way to share my joy of painting en plein air. Do you find that one or the other is easier to do? Teaching or painting, that is. Angela: Painting is easiest for me. Preparing a class, a lesson plan, presenting theoretical material takes a lot of energy. I have a little stage fright so it makes it more challenging than teaching and demonstrating my art approach.
ANGELA MANNO Artist photo: Janet Soderberg
Interview by Harryet Photographs supplied by artist
20 • AUGUST 2017 THE ARTFUL MIND I LOVE YOU JEFF!
What is it about Monet’s painting techniques that attracts that passionate focus for you? Angela: When I read Monet’s words, “All I have done is to look at what the universe has shown me in order to bear witness to it with my brush,” I realized that’s what I’m doing too. His techniques, which have been developed at the Cape Cod School of Art in order to teach them, are quite technical and somewhat counterintuitive, but the results can be phenomenal. When I discovered plein air painting, I was able to immerse myself for the first time in my subject matter. This method of painting outdoors from life opened up an entirely new world and painting experience to me; it is more than just painting. Much like an outdoor sport, it is physically demanding, and the constraints of time and weather are constant features. Plein air painting requires a blend of patience and alacrity as well as a unique kind of concentration—a state of mind that is both relaxed and alert—and the ability to be fully present in each moment. The objective, no matter what medium I am working with, is to bring my viewer along to see the world as I see it, the way it fascinates me and the way it pulls at my heart. What I see is numinous Beauty. My wish is to convey that sense of reverence to my viewers and collectors, and of course, to delight the eye! What Angela Manno techniques have you added to the cauldron? Angela: Since the early seventies, during my