Plein Air Art Podcast · PleinAir Magazine

Colley Whisson on His Art Career Path and More

·1 hr 13 min·4 clips

Colley Whisson says every brush mark can “either help me or hurt me.”

1. Plein Air Art Podcast episode 242 centers on Colley Whisson and his path as an Australian plein air painter. 2. Eric Rhodes hosts as publisher and founder of Plein Air magazine, and Colley Whisson joins as the guest artist whose career spans exhibitions, books, and workshops. 3. The episode asks how Whisson built a painting career from sport, family training, and drawing discipline into a recognizable plein air practice. 4. Rhodes opens with the plein air movement, the French term for “open air,” and a reminder that the show covers outdoor painting around the world. 5. Rhodes also previews an art marketing minute on pricing artwork and checking whether a gallery that contacts you is legit. 6. Whisson describes growing up in Queensland on a couple of acres with cows, chickens, pineapple farms, bananas, mangoes, and heat that required fans and air conditioning in his studio. 7. He says his father, Eric Wilson, taught art and that the family included seven children, including Whisson’s twin brother Barry and younger sister Erica. 8. Whisson explains that he also came from sport, with running, soccer, cricket, and golf filling his youth until a knee injury changed his direction. 9. He says an early outdoor painting attempt ended badly with marsh flies and a realization on the drive home that he should draw for three years before returning to oils. 10. Rhodes and Whisson connect that training to drawing, value structure, and the idea that light depends on contrast. 11. Whisson says his parents told him not to do framing or carpentry once he started painting seriously, so he could focus on becoming known for painting. 12. He describes a sink-or-swim period after buying his first home with Stephanie, because he no longer had the same safety net around him. 13. Whisson credits family feedback from Stephanie, his son Alex, and his blunt mother-in-law, who will say “I like that,” “love that,” or “hate that.” 14. He says mentor Terry Gawthorne urged him not to paint like his father or other relatives and took him through galleries and the state gallery of Queensland. 15. Standing before Arthur Streeton’s work gave Whisson a physical reaction, and he says that moment pointed him toward impressionism. 16. He also cites Sydney and Melbourne artists, including Maxwell Wilkes, Les Graham, Harold Herbert, Richard Schmidt, Trevor Chamberlain, David Curtis, and Hans Heysen, as important influences. 17. Whisson’s tone is reflective and practical, with repeated stories about family, training, and the daily realities of making paintings. 18. The conversation moves like a long-form interview, with Rhodes asking follow-up questions about drawing, subject choice, and how Whisson thinks while painting. 19. Listeners who like plein air technique, artist biographies, and family training stories. 20. Listeners who want a short, high-drama narrative with no technique discussion.

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