Shades. Lutry. 17.06.2025. 18.5x28 cm.

Shades. Lutry. 17.06.2025

This original plein-air oil painting was created in Lutry, Switzerland, on the shores of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) in June 2025. Painted directly outdoors, the work explores reflections, colour vibrations and the shifting relationship between water, light and shadow during a summer day beside the lake.

The composition is structured around reflections rather than objects themselves. Trees, figures and the lakeside edge appear only briefly along the upper part of the painting, while most of the surface is devoted to their fragmented presence within the water. The landscape dissolves into reflections, transforming solid forms into shifting fields of colour and light.

Thick layers of oil paint create a highly textured surface where each brushstroke becomes part of the visual rhythm of the image. Blues, pale violets, turquoise tones, soft greens and touches of warm colour interact across the water, producing an atmosphere that feels simultaneously luminous and unstable. The reflections seem to break apart and reform, capturing the constant movement of light on Lac Léman.

Rather than depicting a specific view of Lutry, the painting focuses on perception itself. The title Shades refers not only to shadow but also to subtle tonal variations and fleeting transitions between colour, reflection and atmosphere. The subject becomes the experience of looking into water and watching reality transform into abstract fragments of light.

Lutry, located within the Lavaux UNESCO World Heritage landscape, is known for its changing lakeside reflections created by the interaction of water, sky, vegetation and seasonal light. Along the shores of Lac Léman, reflections often become as visually powerful as the landscape itself, creating scenes that continuously shift throughout the day. (whc.unesco.org, lavaux-unesco.ch)

On this June day, the water reflected both the brightness of summer and the cooler tones hidden within the shadows. The result was a delicate balance between observation and abstraction, where the visible landscape gradually dissolved into colour, texture and atmosphere.

Created during a single plein-air painting session, this work preserves a fleeting encounter with light and reflection in Lutry. The painting records not only a place but also a specific visual experience that existed for only a brief moment before changing again.

This work belongs to my ongoing series dedicated to Lutry, Lavaux and Lac Léman. Each painting records a direct encounter with atmosphere, light and the changing surface of the landscape observed outdoors.

Original plein-air oil painting by Olga Tacan.

Location: Lutry, Vaud, Switzerland
Subject: Reflections, water and summer light on Lac Léman (Lake Geneva)
Region: Lavaux UNESCO World Heritage landscape
Medium: Oil painting
Date painted: 17 June 2025

Oil on paper

Plein  air painting

Size 18.5 x 28 cm

Size with passé-partout  30 x 44 cm 

Date: 17 June 2025

Location: Lutry, Switzerland