Margaret Farrell Bruno was first introduced to plein air painting over 30 years ago while still in high school apprenticing for a local artist in her seaside community. It was at this time also that she picked up her first set of pastels and oils and the mutual love for all began. After graduating with a BFA from Pratt Institute in New York, Margaret was drawn back to the ocean and has resided there with her husband and family ever since.
Her community of Marshfield, Ma offers hundreds of inspiring locations from beach scenes to local cranberry bogs, along with the tidal rivers and marshes the area is known for. Incorporating these many locales, Margaret strives to capture the natural light, color and atmosphere of the scene before her. Having learned from experience how quickly you must work while on location, when working in pastel, Margaret first paints a quick watercolor underpainting which allows her not only to block in her design and composition, but also creates a luminosity which reads through in her subsequent layers of pastels. She continues to build the piece to give it depth and color clarity. She challenges herself to capture the excitement and essence of the scene and have the viewer experience these same feelings.
Margaret also enjoys painting portraits and larger studio landscape paintings. When painting her studio pieces she uses her plein air pieces as reference whenever possible to keep the vitality and the color true to the original scene.
Margaret is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America and President of the North River Arts Society. She has taught workshops and classes in pastel at several area venues and is offering a class focusing on the use of the computer for preparing your digital submissions for juried shows and for promotional materials. She finds teaching a rewarding way to pass on her knowledge while helping others attain new personal goals in art. Margaret is represented by The Kendall Art Gallery in Wellfleet on Cape Cod and Expressions in Scituate Harbor. You can view more of her art work and current class listings at mfbruno.com or follow her blog at mfbruno.blogspot.com
