Plein Aire Painters

I'm preparing curriculum and equipment to teach a plein aire class in Tuscany, Italy.

I'm excited, nervous, and jittery, but, most of all, I'm planning everything as carefully as I possibly can so that the STUDENTS will have the TIME of their LIFE.

I've been painting outdoors as much as I can during the past two weeks, trying to warm up my plein aire skills. It's quite a switch to move from painting in the studio to painting outdoors. My neighbor, friend and patron, Jean, was asking me yesterday what could be different in plein aire painting? We had a long conversation and, truthfully, I probably gave her more explanation than I needed to. In short, I can put lots of those little details I love in my studio work but, when I'm working outdoors, I have to contend with weather, tourists and drying paint, so I only have time to capture a moment and place in time. For me, I try to work as quickly as possible, before the light changes, leaving out as many details as I can, connecting the large forms and shapes and, hopefully, coming up with a more simplistic view that really captures the day, the scene, the time and the feeling. Plein Aire may minimize details, but it usually makes it up in emotion. The viewer really ought to feel like they're STANDING right there in the scene.


Catch me in Frederick, MD, beginning June 22nd, as part of the Easels in Frederick national plein aire competition. Completed works will be on exhibit on June 26, 2011, at the Delaplaine Visual Arts Center in Frederick, MD .

My painting, Morning in the City, has been selected for the National Watercolor Society Show, on exhibit at the NWS Gallery at 915 S. Pacific Avenue in San Pedro, CA during May 2011.

Curiosity, Light and Shadows has been selected for the International Watermedia XVII Exhibit, sponsored by the Pikes Peak Watercolor Society, Colorado Springs, CO during June and July 2011. This painting is included in today's blog.

Go paint!

Award at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Show!

I won an award for my painting, Chinatown One, at the Baltimore Watercolor Society's Mid-Atlantic Regional Show, on exhibit at Strathmore Hall in Bethesda, MD during the spring of 2011. I'm so honored - excited - thrilled - and, grateful. Heck, I'm just thankful to be IN the show. The work is of a national quality and many of the exhibiting artists are the top watercolor painters in the country. So, I thank the judge, John Salminen, for his faith in me - I feel so encouraged to continue working; I thank the folks at the Baltimore Watercolor Society for always putting together such a classy show and I thank my students, Marie, Melanie, Tess, Linda and Alice, for coming to see the show during the award ceremony on Sunday.

'Tis sweet.......

National Watercolor Society (smile)

This week I shipped a large painting, City in the Morning, to the National Watercolor Member's Exhibition in San Pedro, CA. This is the second time I've been accepted into the NWS show, but I hope that there will be many more acceptances. Sadly, this isn't the show where I can apply for signature status. I've had paintings accepted into five national exhibits now since January 2011! Wow. I'm so excited and always grateful that I can pursue something I enjoy so much.

My sweet neighbor, Susan, has urged me to keep up with my blog and post this great news. My friends, sometimes it takes me a while to keep up with everything and that's because I am a WORKING artist. I am a working artist and I have one employee and it is.... me. If I'm not posting on blogs, or responding to your emails, then I'm probably painting, or framing or maybe cuttings mats, or perhaps purchasing frames and/or mats, or developing a workshop or calling/emailing workshop contacts, approaching a gallery, developing CD's to send out to galleries, writing press releases, writing magazine articles that I want to submit to watercolor publications, editing articles, attending a business meeting, delivering paintings somewhere, keyboarding in dates or workshop or exhibit information, committing to general business work so I can presume to be a good business woman, packing and shipping something, developing marketing plans, TEACHING or planning curriculum (this takes a tremendous part of my time because I'm overbooked with workshops and classes and the teacher must be organized), planning the next travel destination, renting cars or booking hotels or gathering art supplies and teaching equipment or taking photographs to use for my next painting, working en plein aire, or perhaps developing photos or drawing them or checking different online supply stores, comparing prices and ordering supplies or going to Office Depot for some silly thing I must have.

So, you see my friends, the work is never done; the day never ends, and there is oh, so much to do.

When do I paint? I try to paint every single day in the early morning when I am at my freshest and have ideas. But, I have to be careful where my energy goes and save it for what I believe I'm created to do: PAINT.

Pouring: And Loving It.

I just found out that I won an award at the Baltimore Watercolor Society's 2011 show. That's pretty exciting! I'm surprised, too, because when I dropped off my "Chinatown I" painting, my first thought was that I was absolutely lucky to even be included in the show! The BWS show is becoming one of the top in the country; the quality of work is remarkable. Go see the show if you can at Strathmore Hall in Bethesda, MD during April through early May, 2011. Again, I was amazed at some of the paintings I was looking at.

Here's a picture of the painting that I've poured on several times. I'm now hand painting and I expect to pour on it several more times. I enjoy incorporating pouring and atomizing; these are both ways to glaze.

National Watercolor Competitions: Learning As I Go!

I am not an old pro at entering national watercolor competitions; in fact, I've gotten serious about this in the last two years and this year, I've entered nearly every national competition that I have paintings available for: good paintings. This is hard, hard work.

First of all, I have to hold back every painting that is entered. The process ties up a good piece for months while you wait to hear back from the judge, wait to ship the painting, ship it to the location and then wait again for the piece to return. This can take up to six months of your time with ONE painting! If you have gallery exhibits happening concurrently, your best work can be sitting on the sidelines, waiting, waiting, waiting..... You must hold the entered painting back because if it's selected and the piece is no longer available, it's my understanding that the artist will not be permitted to enter that show again.

Secondly, the paintings that you consider entering into national competition need to be DARN GOOD. One must be mindful and honest; is this work really competitive on a national level of skill and technique? Be sure to review catalogues and websites of previous shows. You can certainly enter a show, but it doesn't take long before you've spent a lot of money on entry fees. If you're spending the money, be sure you honestly have a chance at selection.

Should you do some research on the judges? Maybe.... I'm not familiar enough with this issue to be able to "judge." I've been reading some scathing blogs about watercolor judges recently, so I'm guessing that there is a lot of political "stuff" that goes on with some judging, just as it does in any occupation. I'm going to try to gather more experience in this issue.

Money, money, money! These entry fees really build up quickly. I'm not entering local shows anymore because I can't afford to and if my focus is on the national level, then my money needs to go to the national level. Besides entry fees ($25 - $40), there are shipping fees ($100 often covers both ways), shipping box fees ($100), and handling fees on the other end (these are running as high as $50). These fees don't even include the cost of painting a winning piece and framing it.

Can you take disappointment? I was a theatre major and I'm accustomed to standing in audition lines and being rejected because I don't fit the physical description of the character. I try to have the attitude that I'll enter shows, I won't take anything personally and I won't expect anything in return. If I really believe in a painting, I'll enter it over and over again, although by the 3rd try, I think I'd have to re evaluate my quality control summary. You have to acquire a very tough skin......

Quality, quality, quality. I have to say it again, mostly to remind myself. I'm learning as I go through this process. I want to be sure that I only enter quality work and that my work represents who I am: artists and judges are visual so my work is me and I am my work.

If you're entering a lot of shows, good luck. I'm learning as I go and we can learn together!

So far this year, I've had entries accepted into the Georgia Natioal Watercolor Exhibition, the National Watercolor Soceity Member Show, the Missouri National Show, the Rocky Mountain Watermedia Show, and the Baltimore Watercolor Society MId Atlantic Regional Show. I was not accepted into the TWSA or the AWS. Of course, just like every other competitive watercolor painter out there, those are the two shows I very much would like to make but I'm incredibly excited and honored to be selected in the national exhibits listed above. I hope to continue improving and refining my painting and working hard towards a level of quality and imagination where a painting by Catherine Hillis is noticed more and more.

I plan to paint my heart out: this is what I'm created to do.

Happy painting!

Selected for National Plein Aire Event!

Hurray! I just found out that I've been selected to participate in the nationally juried "Easels in Frederick" event, June 22 - 26, 2011.http://easelsinfrederick.org

I can hardly wait. I hope the weather will be lovely, since I'm a watercolorist and most artists selected for these events are oil painters. They don't have to worry about drying their paint!

Check it out. Frederick, MD is a beautiful and historic town. I think it will provide me with many opportunities to produce some colorful and sharp watercolors.

I'm grateful for another opportunity.

Here, I'm attaching a painting that was produced "en plein aire" last summer. It's for sale, of course! If anyone out there in computer neverland is interested, send me an email! This piece was painted in the countryside and measures about 17" by 12" unmatted.

National Exhibits for Catherine Hillis

I've had paintings accepted in three national shows during the past three weeks:

Round 'n Round has been selected for the Watercolor Missouri National 2011 on exhibit at the Winston Churchill Museum and Library in Fulton, MO during Spring 2011.

Monday Morning will be on exhibit at the Georgia Watercolor Society's 2011 National Exhibition at the Carrollton Cultural Arts Center in Carrollton, GA March 1 - April 21, 2011.

The Pedicure was accepted in the Rockies West 2011 National Show in Grand Junction, CO at the Cultural Arts Center there.

My show at Art Square just about sold out during opening night. Whew. What a month.....