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West Windsor artist Lori Langsner served as a juror and contributing artist for the West Windsor Arts Council’s ‘By the Light of Day’ exhibit of plein air painting on view through August 27.

West Windsor artist Lori Langsner served as a juror and contributing artist for the West Windsor Arts Council’s ‘By the Light of Day’ exhibit of plein air painting on view through August 27.

Nature is a sensory experience for Lori Langsner. Others may simply relax and bask in the scenery, but she, and her brush, tend to keep moving, rhythmically grasping the subtle changes without losing that sense of peace.

There are birds chirping, or perhaps no sound at all, except a breeze. Langsner’s landscape paintings allow for ripples in the water to become oil on her canvas, but light and color are equally her muses as they provide a wave of calm over the artist.

“There is a quietude and a beauty in nature that I love,” she says. “When I’m painting anywhere outdoors, the world is gone. I am so immersed in the process of painting and capturing that moment of what I’m looking at in nature, in the landscape, that three hours go by.”

But as a way to bring that brightness together as a community, Langsner is one of the jurors for the West Windsor Arts Council’s summer exhibition, “By the Light of Day,” focusing directly on painting “en plein air” — a French term for painting outdoors that translates to “in the open air.”

The exhibit on view through August 27 is a testament to how local creatives employed this 19th-century technique, later popularized by impressionists like Claude Monet and Paul Cézanne, to echo nature in its simplicity.

U.S. 1 spoke with Langsner about the nuances of the method, as well as her application of it.

“Plein air is capturing the light, that ever-changing light, with color and brushstroke like the impressionists,” Langsner says. “I don’t think the French term ‘en plein air’ is known to the average person. It is known to painters, artists, and art students, but the public has no sense, to my knowledge, of what en plein air is — and to explain it to them is one thing, but to see it? It opens up your eyes to the idea of literally, you are outside and you created this.”

“By the Light of Day” features work from Langsner’s fellow juror, Stockton artist Bob Barish, as well as pieces like “Kayak Daze” by Mary Lou Thomas and “Shade of the Sycamore” by Carlo Fiorentini. A full list of exhibiting artists can be found online at the West Windsor Arts website, westwindsorarts.org.

When Langsner retired following 36 years teaching art in New York City public schools, she was able to rekindle her fondness for painting, passionately taking again to the craft in her free time.

But just as art remained intrinsic to Langsner’s happiness, so did her active pursuit of instruction. She takes a weekly class at the Princeton Art Council, then teaches adults both the “Art of Oil Painting” and “Plein Air: Capture the Moment” classes at West Windsor Arts.

In addition to helping select the pieces, Langsner was asked to provide examples of her own, which prompted the inclusion of two recent and smaller works, as well as one she felt “was a true plein air painting from this area.”

“Morning on the Lake,” the largest of the trio, was painted near Mercer County Park’s boathouse and reflects the area’s lush greenery as it meets the water’s surface.

Depending on the piece, Langsner either paints the entire scene strictly en plein air, tracking the light for two or three hours at a time before it changes, or brings it back to her basement studio. While she tends to prefer the latter, she always finishes where she started — outdoors, observing the real, natural colors, even as they constantly shift.

For “Spring Awakening,” Langsner says she was drawn to this “beautiful pink blossom cherry tree” at the D&R Greenway Land Trust in Princeton. Her results are just as magnetic in the way they achieve a soft, rosy texture melting into the sky above.

Langsner, who grew up in Brooklyn, describes herself as a “traditionalist in the styles” like the impressionists, feeling a kinship in their shared affinity for bright hues and patterns.

“The impressionists are like my friends,” she says with a laugh, having studied, taught, and visited their work on vacations prior to COVID. “But I am drawn to the impressionists, as most people are, and it’s for the light and the color. It just uplifts you. It gives you a sense of beauty and happiness.”

“Canal Path” is a rendering of the towpath from West Windsor to Princeton combining multiple shades of green with earthy tones. As a child, Langsner “always knew” she wanted to be a teacher, but the subject was a little less known. In a constant battle between French and art — with impressionism a constant favorite of both — finally, she says, “the art overpowered.”

Langsner remembers being surrounded by art as a child, whether it was how her mother dutifully kept a 3-year-old Lori’s drawing of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and bought her paint-by-numbers from the toy store, or her two aunts — Iris and Lita Kelmenson, her father’s brothers’ wives — who remain active creators to this day.

“They were always an influence, because if I would go to their home, I was always questioning, and they were always showing me their work. They truly have inspired me to become an artist,” she says.

Even though Lita primarily works with wood sculptures and cast polyester resin, she and Iris both share more than a few similarities with their niece — all three of them taught professionally, while Iris also paints landscapes and still lifes.

Langsner received a B.A. in fine arts from Queens College and an M.S. in special education and neuropsychological learning disabilities from Brooklyn College. Unable to find a job at the time, she had been encouraged to switch concentrations as another way to broaden her repertoire. This change, although unexpected, served her well in the classroom, as she could better help students with disabilities.

Langsner moved to Staten Island while she taught in her native borough. Then, when she moved out to West Windsor in 1992, she transferred to a Staten Island school, where Langsner happily and readily commuted for most of her career.

But it was Aunt Lita who planted a seed in the back of Langsner’s mind about teaching an older age demographic, so when a recently retired Langsner responded to an ad for art instructors, she was ready to see beyond middle school.

Over her seven years at West Windsor Arts, Langsner learned to adapt her strategies, as did the same group of women who started under her that very first day. Rather than provide a specific artist as a framework, she guides and challenges them as she would herself, and they have since independently “developed their own styles.”

It’s a habit, but Langsner admits that sometimes she still accidentally compliments her classes like she would those younger students, because for her, teaching is a natural reflex.

She does prefer to paint en plein air during spring and summer, given the weather’s impact on the outdoors experience, but regardless of that preference, she still has fall classes planned at West Windsor Arts.

Langsner will be instructing beginners in the basics of oil painting at night, while her intermediate courses continue on Thursday mornings. When she is not painting or teaching twice a week, Langsner babysits her grandchildren, calling it “a perfect little world” to have.

“When we were all shut down, I think I did some of my best paintings, and one of them had won first place at the Mercer County Senior Art Show because I had the time to focus so much on the painting. I would work almost every day,” Langsner says, noting that her style became more realistic as a result.

“I think I was fortunate to have art that I can escape to, truthfully,” she continues. “There’s about eight paintings that I did during the pandemic, larger size paintings, and I’m very proud of those.”

Langsner is also set to have her own show at the West Windsor Library in December, where she intends to bring a range of works done including landscapes and still lifes.

“I do hope that the people come to an understanding of what plein air is and an appreciation for it, and to see the wonderful beauty that is surrounding this whole area,” Langsner says, wishing that people might look at nature “a little differently,” as “through the artist’s eyes is the best way to see what plein air is all about.”

Throughout Langsner’s plein air work, light delicately plays with the sky, water, and off of surrounding structures — some organic and others manmade, like the walking path — to show scenery in its raw, colorful effervescence. Between every textured brush stroke, the three pieces indicate an artist in her prime who is fit to jury an exhibit of this caliber.

By the Light of Day, West Windsor Arts Council, 952 Alexander Road, West Windsor. On view through August 27. 609-716-1931 or www.westwindsorarts.org.

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