Plein Air Painters of the Southeast

The Plein Air Painters of the Southeast is an organization of twenty professional artists that was started in 2001 by Dee Beard Dean and a few fellow painters. A jurying process has gradually added more artists over the years, and there are now twenty members.

This page of their website has a collection of sixteen archived articles written by the member artists, "chock-full of painterly advice and weathered wisdom from many years spent painting on location."

From April (azalea and dogwood season) through October, they are offering a series of workshops in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and Italy.

"The southeastern United States has a wealth of natural beauty from coastal salt marshes and barrier islands, to bucolic farmlands and deep deciduous forests. Our towns and cities are steeped in history and architectural elegance: the antebellum homes, colonial churches, courthouses and lighthouses. Throughout every state, one can see colorful reminders of a grand heritage in Southern landscapes and cityscapes."

Plein Air Artists of Riverside - Paint Out

The southern California group Plein Air Artists of Riverside is affiliated with the Riverside Art Museum and has more than 75 members.

Every year, they sponsor a 9-day Paint Out followed by a juried exhibit at the Riverside Art Museum. This year, their 5th annual event begins this Saturday, February 20th and continues until Sunday the 28th. The painting shown here, by PAAR member Brian Wolf, was an award-winner last year.

On Saturday morning, Feb. 27th, there will be a “Quick Draw” from 9-11:30 with an award ceremony at noon, followed by a wet painting sale at the Riverside Plaza in front of the Riverside Arts Project Gallery until 4 pm.

The exhibit will be juried by William Wray and will be on view at the Riverside Art Museum through May 5.

"Monet had Giverny, we have Mission Inn Avenue."

International Plein Air Painters

The International Plein Air Painters organization was established in October 2001, and has as its only mission to promote painting on site outdoors. Its members include painters, students and benefactors, and it exists in sixteen countries including 41 of the 50 states.

They have always juried in new Signature Members between January 20-27, and they anticipate that 2010 will be the last year they will do it that way. After this, Signature Memberships will become available on a space vacated basis. When a current Signature Member leaves, it will open up one space.

Signature Member Status entitles an artist to use IPAP after his/her signature. It also includes a page hosted on the IPAP website with up to 10 images (which can be changed twice a year), CV, statement and link to the artist's own website. They also have a message board for members (not just Signature Members) and a blog where members are featured.

The Ontario Plein Air Society

These people don't give up just because it's winter. The Ontario Plein Air Society has posted a video and some tips for painting in the cold. Don't use glass or metal palettes, dress in 6 (count 'em) layers of clothing, take a break every 20 minutes to warm up, add some gylcerine to acrylics or watercolors, bring something hot to drink. We've also heard of putting "hand warmers" under your palette to keep paint from getting stiff, using an umbrella as a windbreak and wearing ice cleats to keep your feet off the cold ground.

Here's something that hadn't occurred to us: "We begin to prepare for the winter by hardening the body to cool mornings in the fall. You know, bare hands, inadequate layering etc. until it warms up. The body makes amazing adjustments. So much so that the recent warm spell here in November required us to remove some early layers to accommodate the over heating body in its early winter adaptation."

The winter landscape does offer dramatic "chiaroscuro" effects for those brave enough to capture them.

The California Art Club - 100 Years

The California Art Club is celebrating its 100th birthday this month. They will be publishing a 264-page centennial book in early 2011 with a comprehensive, full-color history of the Club and its place within the traditional fine art movement. There are photos of plein air painters alongside a horse and behind a vintage (Model T?) car. Other highlights: they had the first Black American art exhibit in Los Angeles in 1929, Winston Churchill was a member in 1950, and for fifteen years their headquarters was in Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House in Los Angeles.

They have chapters in Los Angeles/Pasadena (the headquarters), Malibu/Ventura County, Orange County, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area and Santa Barbara. Paint-outs are offered quarterly statewide, and monthly in Pasadena.

They are currently having an exhibit at the Thomas Reynolds Gallery in San Francisco entitled Then & Now: Artists Explore the Bay Area. On view through January 9, the show features paintings by Brian Blood, John Burton, Larry Cannon, Christin Coy, Suzanne D'Arcy, Teresa Dong, Drew Fagan, Mark Farina, Robert Hunt, David Jenks, Laurie Kersey, Jeanette LeGrue, Karen Leoni, Richard Lindenberg, Huihan Liu, Kim Lordier, Ann McMillan, Ning Mercer, Clark Mitchell, Kristine Pallas, Camille Przewodek, Michael Reardon, Robert Semans, Thomas Soltesz, Bryan Taylor, Alfredo Tofanelli, Kay Young and Jeff Ziarno.

Plein Air Washington - Three Interviews and a Demo

The group known as Plein Air Washington was born in the Puget Sound area in 2001 as "Washington Plein Air Painters" and has evolved into a much larger group of more than 70 participating artists. All skill levels are welcome to join in the paint-outs, workshops and exhibits.

Their website has archived three artist interviews. Richard Humphrey (painting shown here) talks about the process he goes through when choosing a subject and his interest in painting at night (we like the part about the owl). Jane Wallis talks about the three media she uses, pastel, watercolor and oils, and the sources of her inspiration. Jim Lamb describes his background in illustration and how its deadlines and time constraints have aided his subsequent career as a plein air painter, especially when participating in "quick-draw" events. His interview concludes with a demonstration and his thoughts as he brings a painting to completion.

Plein Air Painters of Chicago

Plein Air Painters of Chicago is a hardy group that goes painting every Saturday morning, year round. An informal organization formed in 2003 by painter Scott Tallman Powers (shown), the Plein Air Painters of Chicago is open to all skill levels. Whoever has the gumption to show up is offered friendly critiques, camaraderie and an opportunity to exhibit with them. And, of course, this being Chicago, there is usually the possibility of good food and drink right around the corner. Bring your hand-warmers.

This is a link to Scott Powers' website. His eloquent paintings capture not only landscapes and cityscapes but also portraits and figures as well as scenes from his travels to China, Guatemala and Italy.

Outdoor Painters Society - Plein Air Southwest Event

The 4th annual Plein Air Southwest event was held in four locations this past summer - Big Bend National Park in Texas, the Hill Country of Texas, the Ouray area of southwest Colorado, and Canyon de Chelly National Monument in northeastern Arizona. More than forty artists participated, including signature artists, guest artists and juried artists.

The exhibit of 150 finished paintings from the event, juried by Gay Faulkenberry, will be held at Southwest Gallery in Dallas. The show opening, awards announcements and artists reception will be on Friday December 4th, 5-9 pm and Saturday December 5th 1-5 pm. The show will remain on view throughout December.

Artist's Square in Savannah

It might be cold and snowing where some of us are, but the southern part of the country, plein air season is just beginning.

Artist's Square is an organization for promoting plein air painting in Savannah, Georgia. Savannah has many historic "squares," or open areas, and one of the very oldest is Telfair Square, named after an early governer of the state.

This weekend will be the fifteenth annual Telfair Art Fair, and artists are invited to set up their easels and participate both days: Saturday, November 14th, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, November 15th, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Gretchen Krause-Holesovsky, Watercolorist

Guerrilla Painter sponsored an award this fall at the Northeast Watercolor Society's 33rd Annual International Show, held in Kent, Connecticut. The winner was Gretchen Krause-Holesovsky, with the painting shown here, entitled Linked Together.

Gretchen also won First Place at the New England Watercolor Society's 2009 Regional Show in Duxbury, Massachusetts, with a painting entitled Well Worn, on view at the Art Complex Museum through January 17th. They are open Wednesday through Sunday, 1-4 PM. There will be a painting demonstration on December 13th.

Congratulations, Gretchen!

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."

Annie Shaver-Crandell

Annie Shaver-Crandell works in oil, watercolor, pastel and oil pastel. In addition to plein air landscapes, she paints interiors (one is entitled "My Space.Calm"), still-lifes, figures and abstracts and also creates in fabric and collage.

She sits on the Board of Directors of the Salmagundi Club of New York.

"Since the surest way to predict my own future is to try to create it myself, I look for inspiration in light and color. As a painter of landscape and still life, I choose to create images inspired by nature's energies.

Giving visible shape to my internal vision fosters healing in myself and others, moving artist and viewer alike from where we are toward some better place."

Theresa Pergal - Artist

Theresa Pergal uses her plein air practice in the service of realism. In addition to landscapes, she focuses on beautiful still-lifes and portraits. She studied at the Otis-Parsons Art Institute in Los Angeles and spent five years at the Ives Gammell Atelier in Boston. Her paintings are available as posters and prints as well as in galleries.

She belongs to the historic North Shore Arts Association of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and the equally historic Rockport Art Association.

American Legacy - Our National Parks at the Haggan Museum

The Haggin Museum, an art and history museum in Stockton, California, is hosting an exhibit of plein air paintings done during the past year in 35 National Parks from coast to coast by 36 members and guests of Plein Air Painters of America. The exhibit also includes some studio work done from plein air references.

The paintings are arranged starting with Yellowstone, our earliest National Park (designated by President Grant in 1872) through the Old Spanish National Historic Trail (designated by President Bush in 2002).

An additional segment of approximately 15 paintings celebrates the centennial of Zion National Park, in southern Utah, which was established in 1909. Fifteen PAPA members spent a week there last March, focusing on the spectacular gorges and intimate creeks and glades in this park whose Hebrew name means a place of refuge or sanctuary.

The exhibit runs from October 3, 2009 - January 10, 2010. Beginning October 2nd, special opening events include:

Gala Opening Reception, Friday, October 2, 7:00-9:00p.m.
Prior to the official opening, a gala reception with the artists allows attendees a first opportunity to view the exhibition and purchase the paintings. Connoisseur ticket-holders have an exclusive opportunity to purchase the paintings from 5:30-7:00 p.m.

Painting Demonstration, Saturday, October 3, 9:30a.m.-12:30p.m.
Participating artists set up their easels at Stockton's Victory Park. Attendees can watch the artists at work and bid on their finished paintings. Admission is free to both this event and the museum, which will be open from 9:30a.m.-5:00p.m. Box lunches and drinks will be available for purchase beginning at 11 a.m. Lunch will be provided to Connoisseur ticket-holders.

Gallery Talk, Sunday, October 4, 2:00-3:00p.m.
Catalog essayist, Jean Stern, executive director of The Irvine Museum, presents "100 Years of Landscape Painting in California." This special event is included with regular museum admission and free for Connoisseur ticket-holders.

The Haggin has the largest museum collection of major Bierstadt works, in addition to renowned 19th- and early 20th-century American and European artists, including Jean Béraud, Rosa Bonheur, William Bouguereau, Jean-Léon Gérôme, George Inness and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

Artists for Conservation

Artists for Conservation is a non-profit, juried association of artists dedicated to wildlife and habitat conservation, biodiversity, sustainability and environmental education through art.

The 500 members participate in benefit sales, sponsored expeditions, an advertising program, awards, a newswire and an events calendar in order to raise both money and awareness.

Shown above is a watercolor sketch done by Alison Nicholls during a sponsored expidition in Zimbabwe to study the endangered Painted Dogs, a genus separate from wolves, dogs, hyenas or jackals. Alison lives in New York and regularly travels to Africa. Regarding her process when creating paintings from sketches, she says, "I find I need to be out of the studio so I can clear my mind of any distracting images. I must admit that it can be quite bizarre walking in a snow covered park in New York while in my mind’s eye I see elephants taking an evening drink from the Chobe river!"

In addition to various locations in Africa, AFC has sponsored expiditions in Bhutan, Siberia, Mongolia, northern Canada, Panama and along the headwaters of the Ganges River.

Plein Air Painters of the Four Corners

The Plein Air Painters of the Four Corners is an organization devoted to furthering both the artists who belong to it and the area where they paint - the high desert and mountain country where four states intersect (Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico). They have paint-outs scheduled for every month of the year.

Included in this region are Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Hovenweep National Monument, Mesa Verde National Park and Monument Valley.

They're currently having a Plein Air Painting Show at the Anasazi Heritage Center, Dolores, Colorado, from July 1 through September 7.

An opening reception and paintout (weather permitting) will take place at the museum on July 12 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. This will be a juried event, with a "Best of Show" award given at the reception. The paintings on exhibit will be offered for sale, proceeds benefiting both the artists and the nonprofit Canyonlands Natural History Association.

Urban Sketchers

Urban Sketchers is a network of artists around the world who draw the cities where they live and travel to. There is this blog, which is by invitation, a Flickr group, where anyone can share their location drawings, and a Google group to stay connected and foster discussion. USk was started on Flickr by Seattle journalist and illustrator Gabi Campanario in November of 2007. The blog was launched in November of 2008.

Six continents are represented by members. To become a member of the Urban Sketchers network, email a link to your urban sketches (blog tag or flickr set) and they'll be added to the list. Note: That will not make your drawings show on the blog but they'll keep a close eye on your work as they look for new correspondents. Send an email with your name, city and URL to urbansketchers at gmail dot com to join.

Cecy Turner - Artist

Cecy Turner was the proud winner of a ThumBox pochade box at the Richardson Civic Art Society 43rd Regional Juried Art Exhibition in Richardson Texas.

This 8"x10" plein-air painting of a heron reflected in still water illustrates this quote from her artist's statement:

"I am fascinated with the glow of reflected light on various surfaces. Painting on location on a regular basis has opened many doors for me. I cannot improve nature, but I can rearrange and simplify it to correspond to what I feel." - Cecy Turner

Plein Air in Bellevue Washington

The Eastside Association of Fine Arts in Bellevue Washington has regularly scheduled plein-air opportunities this summer for members and non-members alike. They will meet every Tuesday morning between mid May and mid September starting at about 9:30 AM at seventeen locations in the Puget sound region. Most have easy access, parking and restrooms.

Anything in any medium goes, from paintings or drawings that are highly realistic to abstract. At 12:30 or so they gather for lunch and a group “Show and Tell”.

The first get-together is this coming Tuesday, May 26, at the Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle. They will be painting along Azalea Way which is about 1/2 mile of plantings with azaleas, rhodies, cherry trees and ponds in the park.

Ontario Plein Air Society Event

The Ontario Plein Air Society will be meeting up at the historic Williams Mill Visual Art Centre (about 40 minutes from Toronto) this Sunday from 12-5 p.m.

The town of Glen Williams has a myriad of 1850's buildings, a historic graveyard, the Credit River, parks, corner store, lovely bakery and 2nd hand bookstore. The mill itself is picturesque, is surrounded by woods on one side, and has plenty of parking.

The Ontario Plein Air Society welcomes all artists no matter what medium or level of expertise. They are a non-commercial group focused on promoting plein air painting in Ontario. If you are one of those lone-wolf plein air painters living in Ontario, join in the camaraderie and positive energy.