Painted Sanctuary: Plein Air Landscapes of the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy.

Tomorrow evening from 5-9 p.m., twenty-seven members of the Plein Air Artists of West Michigan will show nearly 80 paintings at the Park Trades Center in downtown Kalamazoo. The show, Painted Sanctuary, contains paintings completed during a seven-month period within nine preserves, sanctuaries or conservation easements protected by the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy. Half of the money from the sale of paintings in the show will benefit the conservancy. Shown here is the 2010 calendar created by participating artists as a fund-raiser for the Land Conservancy.

Most paintings are traditional oil or pastel compositions. Some, however, break down the landscapes into their stark elements. One piece pairs an artist's journal entry with her minimalist watercolor interpretation of a beech tree at the Chipman Preserve in Comstock Township.

Richard Jordan, the founder of the plein air group, said painting in nature, not in a studio with a photograph, presents challenges but results in an inspired piece. He said many artists battled changing light conditions, or, in the case of his piece, Winter at Hidden Marsh, the cold.

"I don't think there's any competition to being there," he said. "There's a world of difference."

Nanci Erskine - Artist

Nanci Erskine's subtle paintings aren't done plein air, but the sketches they are based on are done from life, sometimes outdoors. She's been focusing these past few years on flowers and vines.

If you click on "Previous Entries (Select a Month)" you can read posts from earlier this year. Here is what she wrote about John Grisham:

"Watching an interview with Charlie Rose the other night, I realized that my previous connection between writing fiction and making a painting was somewhat flawed. Sure, there are some strong similarities with the writing life and process….I have been a somewhat slow painter, because of all the reworking and rethinking that might go on, and I always likened this to letting your characters tell you who they were, etc.

Grisham writes about a book a year, seems intent on the storytelling, more so than great characterization, and has a pretty efficient system. . .but when asked about how he spends his time, getting ready to write, Grisham pointedly said he spent a lot of time outlining. The times he has short-changed it, he writes himself “into a corner.”

A light went on in my head. Since a new theme emerged a couple years back, I hadn’t really gotten back into the habit of committing to the preparatory sketch/composition. I used to do monotypes for this purpose.

In the crunch of time- deadlines etc., I went with a beginning that seemed pretty interesting, only to paint myself into lots of corners.

Now this is not the same as declaring that I want to know exactly what a piece will look like even before I begin- far from it. Only that the arrangement, color, and idea the painting serves, when thought out in the beginning, gives me more to stand on."

David Hockney Exhibit & Video

Pace Wildenstein Galleries in New York City are presenting an exhibit of David Hockney's recent large landscapes, on view through December 24, 2009.

This is a video interview of Hockney talking about his return to Bridlington, Yorkshire (in "twenty-oh-four") where he had lived as a child, after spending most of his life in Los Angeles. He was inspired to see the changing seasons in the expansive landscape, and wanted to paint it from life.

This website has clips from the film, David Hockney: A Bigger Picture by Bruno Wallheim (click on "The Making Of" for some amusing outtakes).

Plein Air at Beaver Farm - Benefit Sale

More than thirty professional artists working in diverse media are participating in the first annual Plein Air at Beaver Farm benefit sale for Camp Hill Special School for children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Glenmoore, Pennsylvania.

The show opens with a reception tomorrow evening, November 3rd, 5:30-8:00 p.m. at the Rosenfeld Gallery at 113 Arch Street (just two blocks from the Betsy Ross house in Old City) Philadelphia.

The 55 acre organic Beaver Farm property houses the Transition Program for 18-21 year-olds. The artists participated in a paint-out on the farm in August to create the works that will be on display tomorrow. Click here to see them - oils, watercolor, gouache, encaustic, woodblock prints and photography.

Randall Sexton - Artist

Bay Area artist Randall Sexton studied landscape and portrait painting with Ken Auster, Bob Gerbracht, Michael Lynch and Milt Kobayashi.

A former instructor at the San Francisco Academy of Art, he now teaches plein air at Pixar. He also teaches workshops in other parts of the country.

"The discipline of direct painting, both in the plein air experience and in the studio, has helped me to develop a loose handling of paint that speaks as much about the paint itself as it does any given subject matter. I try to combine traditional methods of painting with a "sense of myself living in the present". My paintings are a direct response from the world around me as I strive to be "in the moment" while I work. Nature has proven to be the most demanding and inspiring teacher...so I work from life, as often as possible and try to remain open to new ideas and new approaches."

Richard McKinley - Pastel Pointers

Richard McKinley paints in both oils and pastels and teaches workshops nationwide in both mediums. He grew up in the Rogue Valley in Oregon, where he was first inspired to pay attention to nature and the way light defines the location.

His weekly blog for Pastel Journal magazine, entitled Pastel Pointers, is available online and is useful for any painter, whether using pastels or another medium.

Titles of recently posted articles include "Reflecting on Reflections," "Digital Thumbnail Sketch," "A Lesson From Sargent" and "A Painterly Approach to Drawing."

Art on the Farm

Art on the Farm is an event in Northern California that brings together artists and organic farmers. For about ten years, Alan Mart of the Internatural Harvesters organic farm has spearheaded this effort to bring artists and organic farms together. Now that he is unable to continue that effort for a while, the artists involved are pushing the torch forward for a few more miles.

This operation selects a day, often Sunday, and sends the group of artists to a particular farm. There the artist picks out images that are of interest and paints, draws, photographs, etches or whatever seems right at the moment, whatever image seems right.

An exhibit of this years' paintings will open at the Bolinas Gallery on November 4th.

John Harrell - A Daily Painting Journal

Denver painter John Harrell has a Daily Painting Journal with small (6"x6" or 5"x7") urbanscape and landscape studies. The painting shown here is a study for a larger 36"x 36" painting entitled Summer at Lakeside. It will be one of a series of Denver landscapes which will be in an upcomming show (opening on November 6) at Brushstrokes Gallery.

“My subjects choose me - their patterns and shapes, their sense of rhythm and movement, inspire my creative energy. Pastel and acrylic allow me to capture the immediacy of the experience.”

He recently donated a painting to Project Education Sudan, which creates educational infrastructure in rural southern Sudan. They support the building of primary and secondary schools as well as adult education and teacher training.

Diane McClary - Artist

Diane McClary has been dividing her time between the Seattle area and Palm Springs, California. This is a photo of her at La Quinta Cove, where she will be participating in the "Art Under the Umbrellas" event on designated Saturdays in Old Town La Quinta through next April.

She studied with the late Russian master Sergei Bongart and offers workshops in the Palm Springs area.

"Each painting, a landscape, floral, or portrait is always a new experience in comparing the relationship of warm and cool colors. When I paint outdoors, I'm continuously striving to convey the emotions of the scene on canvas. The sound of nature, the smell of fresh air, the feeling of the wind all contribute to the total result."

Van Gogh's Illustrated Letters

Bibliodyssey has a long post of some of Van Gogh's illustrated letters. From the year 1878 through 1890, you can see his draftsmanship improving and his unique style emerging.

Regardless of what you think about his paintings or his life, his letters will touch you with their poignancy and reverance for life and work.

A link to another website that has many more of his letters is included.

Sedona Plein Air Festival, October 24-November 1

This weekend is the beginning of the fifth annual Sedona Plein Air Festival. There will be 30 participating artists from around the country. Events include workshops, demonstrations, lectures, quick draw, "a day in historic Jerome," and a public exhibition & sale.

The opening reception will be next Wednesday, October 28 from 6-8 p.m. at the Sedona Arts Center, 15 Art Barn Road. The “Quick Draw Event” will be held at the same location between 10 a.m-12 p.m. on Friday October 30th (call 928-282-3809 for more information).

Charles Bezzina - Artist in Residence in Greenland

'The Future belongs to those who beleive in
the power of their dreams'.
-Native American proverb.

Here is a photo taken in Greenland of Charles Bezzina painting plein air with the children of Ittoqqortoormiit. In July/August 2008 he was Artist in Residency at Upernavik Museum - North West Greenland. This is classified as the most Northerly Museum in the World. He is a photographer as well as a painter and uses watercolor, acrylics and oils.


"During my stay I visited the UNESCO World Heritage site of Ilulissat Icefjords on several occasions to capture the Ice landscape in my journals and sketch book. The area of Upernavik has 3000 Inuits spread over 11 settlements in an area the size of Britain. Both places in North Greenland inspired me immensely and I am certain new art work will be created during the next few months. The theme of the project is 'In Search of Ice Made In Heaven' " - Charles Bezzina