www.pleinairebrandywinevalley.org

I'm gathering things together for plein aire painting in the beautiful Brandywine Valley.

It takes a tremendous amount of coordination and organization to prepare for these events. I have to order frames and mats ahead of time, and have my painting surfaces pre cut. I don't enjoy painting to a pre determined size, but in plein aire competitions, the artist must turn in completed paintings that are beautifully framed for the final sales. So, I'm already thinking, one month ahead of the contest, of what I might paint and what size the pieces will be.

I have to organize all of my supplies and be sure that I don't forget anything. There may not be art supply stores available to meet my needs. Also, I need to plan my time carefully to be sure that not ONE MINUTE is wasted that could be used for painting during the limited times I will be allowed on the sites that are on the list. Most sites can only be visited for six to eight hours on a specified day.

So my mind and goals must be fine tuned: I must know where I'm going to paint each day, have a good idea what sort of subject I'll paint and I must know EXACTLY what size I'll be working towards because I have a limited number of complete frames that I'm taking with me.

I'm a studio painter. Most of my plein aire pieces are more difficult for me because they must be completed in one day. In the studio, I can just.... take my time.

Meanwhile, in the studio, I'm painting sheep. I'm attaching a photograph here to muse upon....

Carrollton Cultural Arts Center, Georgia On My Mind....

I truly enjoyed meeting the artists in Carrollton, GA. This town has a surprisingly large and new arts center with a theatre, a set design studio, costume shop, art gallery and plenty of large well lit classrooms. Who knew? I thank the students for sharing time with me and allowing me to present a few ideas to them.

Plein Aire Brandywine

I just found out that I've been selected to participate in the "Plein Aire Brandywine" competition from September 25 - October 1, 2011. The competition will take place in the scenic Brandywine Valley, including Longwood Gardens, Winterthur, the Hagley Museum and Mt. Cuba. I'm so excited! I've never even seen these properties, but I've heard a lot about them and look forward to painting them!

If you'd like to visit me during this event, I would just love it!

Here's the website: http://www.pleinairebrandywine.org/.

I absolutely love painting outdoors. One must paint quickly, trying to capture the scene in as few brushstrokes as possible. Plein aire work doesn't always turn out; but when it does, it's magic.

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The picture here was painted on site in Unison, VA in 2 1/2 hours.

Still Thinking about Tuscany

I've booked another trip to teach plein aire painting in Tuscany, Italy, June 9 - 16, 2012, through www.ilchiostro.com.

The staff and the location were so amazing, I can't get it out of my mind. Registration information is on my website at www.catherinehillis.com.

This picture was taken by Marcia, one of my students. It's such a classic. It looks like, perhaps, I've missed the best scene of all.... which is behind me! But, truthfully, everywhere I turned was some beautiful subject, just waiting to be painted.

Summer's the time for plein aire painting and I'm doing my share of it. I didn't paint outdoors today because of the 100 degree weather, but I'm trying to go out twice a week at a minimum to paint en plein aire. There's something so exciting and even DANGEROUS about capturing an image in just a few hours. I love the sense of adventure and the spontaneity required in plein aire work. And, for me, it's just plain fun.

Splash 12: I'm published!

The Splash 12 Book: Best of Watercolors, is out and I'm in it! This is an exciting step in a good direction for me. If you want a copy of the book, let me know and I'll order you one. I'm on page 96: the painting is "Round 'n Round."

Copyright (c)2011, North Light Books. All materials used by permission of F+W Media. All rights reserved.

Interested in workshops? Check out my website at: http://www.catherinehillis.com/

Easels in Frederick

A week after getting back from Italy, I've been on the road again, this time in Frederick, Md., for the Easels in Frederick plein aire event. Here. courtesy of the Frederick News Post and AJ Messer, is a video of the event where I was interviewed. This is a national level event, and only 30 artists were selected to paint. We had a small geographic area in which we could work, but Frederick provided us with beautiful subject matter.

VENICE!

Venice is a wonder. The entire town looks like a painting and nearly every photograph I took could become a painting. There are colorful characters everywhere, the graceful gondolas, the ever amusing gondoliers, and quirky little shops stuffed into every corner and crevice, bursting with unusual items: commedia dell’ arte masks, colorful glass, jewelry, wooden items, fine china, expensive designer clothing, the funkiest art, hand made papers and books, marvelous clothing, and hand crafted items of every color, sort and style.

It was a delight to wander through the Venetian streets, not knowing where I was, and somehow return right back to where I started.

It seems as though much of the gold in the world is either in Venice, Rome or Florence – in the churches. I’ve seen more reliquaries than you can shake a …. um, bone, at. Words cannot express the wonder of the art available for viewing in Italy. And, it seems to me that Venice must have been, at one time, the center of the entire world, from the looks of its great wealth and splendor.

Of all the places I’ve been, I’d like most to return to Burano to paint. It’s the little island outside of Venice that’s best known for its lace makers. It’s full of boats, and little buildings painted in all the pastel colors you have in a crayon box: lavender, pink, blue, yellow. The streets are wide and fairly quiet, the laundry is flapping in the breeze above the colorful window boxes, and the shops require a second glance. It’s my hope to return, sooner rather than later, and set up my easel and capture those colorful and watery landscapes on paper.