Thursday, April 29, 2010

Painting Retreats


Nothing sounds like quite as much fun as a "painter's retreat." Not a workshop, not a vacation, it's rather a combination of focus and freedom. Here are several that are available this season:

The Omega Institute is offering an Autumn Painter's Retreat focusing on Hudson Valley watercolor landscapes with Fulbright scholar, professional artist and muralist Alan Leon. This is peak fall foliage season.

New Mexico expressionist/plein air painter Louisa McElwain is offering demos, critiques, information and encouragement to artists who visit her property near Santa Fe. Subject matter ranges from spectacular mountain and badlands terrain to churches, villages and her farm with its orchard, pastures, gardens, horses, cattle and poultry. Stay in an historic log house, complete with antique wood burning range, Satellite TV and internet.

In November, Open Air Italy invites you to Tuscany for the olive harvest. Take some new oil home with you. There are only four remaining spaces for this trip.

You've heard of heli-skiing, now you can go heli-hiking with your painting gear in southeastern British Columbia. Canadian Mountain Holidays is making this trip available from August 31 - September 5.

Or you can hike in Italy's Sibillini Mountains, participating in a combination of studio time, walking, sketching, excursions and a visit to the Fabriano Paper Museum. This trip takes place October 9-16.

Karl Eric Leitzel will host "Finding Your Voice - A Painter's Retreat" at the Inn On the Sky in Spring Mills, Pennsylvania this summer.

Decisions, decisions.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Marin Arts Open Studios & Festival


Throughout Marin County in Northern California, there will be a free, self-guided Open Studios Tour during the first two weekends in May.

More than three hundred artists will have their studios open (most for both weekends), and tens of thousands of people will make the tour. There are about sixty plein air painters involved.

The Marin Arts Council will display work from each artist at its new location, 906 4th Street, San Rafael. The exhibit runs from April 25 through May 23.

In addition to paintings, the event features sculpture, fiber, furniture, jewelry, weaving, metalwork, stained glass, photography, pottery and etchings. A related gallery exhibit will also be located at 888 4th Street, San Rafael.

The painting shown in the poster, above, is Mount Tamalpais from Lucas Valley by Kathleen Lipinski.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Hunter McKee - Artist


Most of New Jersey artist Hunter McKee's paintings are done plein air, combining expressive color, confident brushstrokes and dramatic perspective & cropping. They vary in size from 6"x8" up to 28"x49".

"I paint directly, on-site, using opaque colors in response to what I see, think, and feel about a subject. It’s a challenging, time consuming, and rewarding process."

He was a student of George Nick at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, who also combines ordinary subjects with fresh enthusiasm, and who paints exclusively from observation.

Friday, April 23, 2010

William Jameson - Artist & Teacher


William Jameson loves to travel and paint. His land- and seascapes feature the Bahamas, Italy, France, Mexico, Colorado and Montana as well as his beloved home state of South Carolina. Their sizes vary from 8"x10" up to 52"x72" (the one shown here, Apallachian Textures II, is 72"x48").

His workshops are open to all levels from beginner to advanced, and instruction is offered in oil, watercolor, acrylic or pen and ink sketching. His wife Anne is also a painter and participates in the workshops.

“The more I paint, the more I must paint. The need to…is never diminished by having completed a painting, but rather there’s an immediate need to begin another.”

Friday, April 9, 2010

Paint the Town in Marble Falls, Texas


The Fifth Annual Paint the Town plein-air art event will be April 16-18 in historic downtown Marble Falls, in the Texas Hill Country west of Austin. More than 50 juried artists will set up their easels, and the public is invited to watch the painters at work. There will also be live music all three days of the event.

This year’s finished paintings will be judged by plein air artist and teacher V....Vaughan (painting shown). She will also present a gallery talk on Sunday the 18th about her plein air project and book, Last Year on the Farm, a collection of 365 paintings of her family farm. Fifty of them will be on view.

"I have lived here 30 years . . . most of my life. My husband has lived here his entire life. Our three children are the fourth generation to live here. The farm has sold now and development is coming soon. We are moving to other pastures. The seasons are changing . .. forever."

Monday, April 5, 2010

Florida's Forgotten Coast Plein Air Paint Out


Time once again for the Florida's Forgotten Coast Plein Air Paint Out, a ten-day event taking place from May 7-17 on northern Florida's Gulf Coast.

More than twenty nationally-known painters have been scheduled to participate, and the Quick Draw event on May 8 at Saint George Island Lighthouse Park is open to anyone over the age of 14.

There are all kinds of events open to the public, many of them free, including 11 demonstrations, a roundtable discussion, children's art activities, artists' receptions, student art day, exhibits, entertainment, and 3 workshops. In addition, of course, everyone is invited to watch the pros as they paint in eight locations along the waterfront and the inland town of Wewahitchka.

You can also find out more about it on their facebook page.