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| Queen Juliana Bridge, Curacao Plein Air Invitational, 2015 |
What a year 2015 has been.
I’ve participated in many plein air competitions this year and I’m
pleased with the work I’ve produced in the field. I’ve had fun, too, doing something I really
enjoy, something I’m good at and it brings in income for my business. February opened up with Plein Air Curacao. I’d never been to this tropical island and
what a beauty it is. The staff of Plein Air Curacao was remarkable to
work with and they went out of their way to be sure artists were respected for
their hard work and treated well. They
focused strongly on selling work for artists, and this is a great help to those
of us who travel far to participate. Plein
Air Curacao is an event I highly recommend and the island is a must see
experience for just about anyone. Please
go if you have the opportunity. The
highlight of the event for me was my Honorable Mention Award at the Quick Draw,
presented by judge Peter Trippi.
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| The Old Florida, Winter Park Invitational, 2015. |
Next, I traveled to the Museum
of Gadsden in Gadsden,
Alabama for the Plein Air Painters of
the Southeast Invitational and I thank everyone I met there for the
impressive organization in handling their plein air event. Artists were treated with tremendous respect
and the museum staff was organized to the point that our every need was taken
care of, and the final sales event garnered many thousands of dollars. I was impressed with the scenery in this
little Alabama town and I’d
especially love to paint in the historic district again and some of those Victorian homes. There’s nothing like spring in the south,
when the dogwoods and azaleas are in full bloom.
The Winter Park Paint Out Invitational was another
great experience for me and sales in this event were also robust. At this point, I’d encountered three great
sales events and I was feeling pleased about the results of my work. Winter Park was hot but the painting was
great and I discovered the peacock havens in and around the area where large
masses of the birds live and this brought a delight to me (and, hopefully, to
my customers) to be able to capture these lively and beautiful birds in
paint. I always stop by to see the
egrets nesting in this area of Florida,
but this year the nestlings weren’t as plentiful. On my very last day in Florida,
I found the lovely wild gardens which are the subject of my painting “The Old
Florida,” and I was delighted to meet the wonderful and generous artist who
lives there.
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| Night Creeps In, Finger Lakes Plein Air, 2015. |
Sadly, I had to bow out of the Paint the Beach event
in Daytona Beach and I also had to let go of Plein Air Grand Marais
and Plein Air Hudson, because I just couldn’t work out my schedule and finances
to make these events happen. I sincerely
hope I will be invited to paint in these venues in the future, and I’ll plan my
schedule a little better. I’m so
grateful to be selected for these competitive plein air events
I'm very proud of my Quick Draw painting from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania - drawn, painted and framed within two hours. Advance preparation makes for a good painting. It was during this event that I began working on preliminary sketching and I do believe it lends the artist a good start.
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| Sit A Spell, Quick Draw at Camp Hill, 2015. |
Finger Lakes Plein Air was a big discovery to me. The area
is more rural than I knew, and Canandaigua Lake is pristine. There’s plenty to paint ranging from rural landscapes to water scenes
featuring the lake, and darling villages.
I enjoyed painting the lush greens in this event. Now, I’m waiting to participate in the
Piedmont Plein Air event in High Point, NC
and the Brandywine Plein Air event in Pennsylvania.
New discoveries excite me and I know I’m
in the right place when I’ve spent some time looking around, trying to
select a location and…. I’ve got the tingling feeling that I’ve
just got to paint. So, here's to plein air painting and I'm so grateful to have a job that I enjoy. I paint because I'm still having a good time, and it's a blessing to have the opportunity to paint our country (and even beyond), capturing history and spirit in watercolor paint.
