Reflecting on plein air painting

I have had time this week to further reflect on my week in Pinetop participating in the Paint the Aspens Plein Air Event. Although I paint plein air at least once a week here in Scottsdale, last week was the first time I spent an entire week just painting in the great outdoors. As I reflected several points coalesced in my mind:

1. Painting is even more stimulating and enjoyable when you have no other commitments pulling you back home by a certain time. Knowing your only time constraint was the changing light was very refreshing.
2. I have always loved being in the great outdoors. I loved trailriding with my horse for the same reason. I realize that I loved riding my horse across the state of Michigan for the same reasons that I so enjoyed last week...total immersion in doing something I love in the great outdoors.
3. Painting consistently through the week I realized that I was figuring things out that I may not have discovered with a short one time session. For example...making aspens look more like aspens without painting every leaf.
4. I found myself looking at my work and thinking about values.....values in the desert scenes I have been painting as opposed to values in mountain pines and aspens.
5. I love when a painting comes together as a final product...but I love the process of painting even more.
6. Spending a week with fellow artists talking art for hours was stimulating.
7. Watching other artists work and discussing their strategies and decisions allowed me to learn more than I have learned in many formal workshops I have taken.

These are just some of the thoughts that have been circling in my mind and I needed to write them down.

Life is good!!

Paint the Aspens

Last week I participated in a week long plein air event called Paint the Aspens. The event is co-sponsored by Gwen Pentecost, owner of The Joyous Gallery in Pinetop, Arizona, and the Arizona Plein Air Painters Association. Painters arrived in Pinetop beginning Saturday, October 4th. Canvasses or paper supports artists paint on must be stamped at the gallery prior to their creating a work to be eligible for the event competition. I arrived in Pinetop Sunday afternoon and checked into the Best Western motel. After unpacking I drove to the gallery to have my pastel paper stamped. I had 8 sheets stamped as I had no idea how many paintings I would create before the Friday noon deadline.

My timing appeared to be perfect. The weather on Sunday on my arrival was cold and windy with rain, hail and even snow in the higher altitudes! However, the five days that I was painting beginning with Monday were gorgeously sunny. Monday was quite chilly. As you can see, I had on two sweatshirts, my painting apron and still felt the chill even though I was in the sun.


However, despite the chill, the aspens were showing their fall brilliance in contrast to the Sunrise Ski Resort ski runs that were white with the snow that fell on Sunday. The cold produced magic in regards to the aspens coloration. Over the week the aspen color more than doubled while the temperatures warmed and the snow on the ski runs slowly disappeared. By Wednesday I was painting in just a t-shirt by the afternoon. Check out these sample photos I took:


What a week! I heard elk bugling, had to stop in the road for herds of horses, deer and cattle to cross. Fresh air, rustling leaves and pine needles, and painting all day long in Mother Nature at her best with kindred souls!

I painted seven paintings during the week. Two were accepted into the month long Paint the Aspens Gallery Show at the Joyous Lake Gallery in Pinetop. Here they are:

I will add the other pieces that I painted to my website as I put the finishing touches on them at home here in my studio. Now my fingers are crossed that one or both of the pieces sell during the next month!

I can't wait until next year to participate again. However.....there is much to do to prepare paintings for the upcoming Arizona Art Alliance Show and to hopefully be juried into the Arizona Art Guild Show, both of which are in early November.

Onward!!!

Taste of Cave Creek

On Thursday, September 25th, Cave Creek will be hosting their annual Taste of Cave Creek event. This year's event organizers contacted the Cave Creek Film and Art Festival and requested that the art juried into the 2008 festival be displayed at the 2008 Taste of Cave Creek. This event will be held in the newly developed Stagecoach Village shopping area. The event draws a number of people. This year's event also takes place the same time that the Arizona mayoral conference takes place at the Carefree Resort. Needless to say I am excited at the opportunity for additional exposure and possible sale of my art work. But I must say the excitement is somewhat heightened by the fact that each artist was given two tickets to the event and four complimentary drink coupons. That brought a smile to my husband's face. Some of our favorite restaurants are in Cave Creek.....so we are looking forward to the event even if art sales do not result from the evening!

The season is beginning to roll

Wow! Where did the summer go? I can't believe we are in September already....but the calendar insists that it is so! Bob and I scheduled a lot of travel this year which has been thrilling and so fulfilling, but certainly has played havoc with our time. We have either been preparing for a trip or getting back to normal and catching up upon our return from a trip. This has been the case this week. We just came back from an 18 day Alaskan cruise and tour that was absolutely wonderful. The trip confirmed all the gushing from others who have done an Alaskan cruise. The pristine wilderness was awe inspiring. To see wildlife in their natural habitat was thrilling. The only downside was cold and rainy weather.....but that is Alaska! I have a lot of photos that may become paintings. I am not sure I can do justice to the majesty of the Alaska mountains and glaciers.....but I feel I must give it a good try...so stay tuned!

One of the tasks I needed to complete prior to leaving for our cruise in mid August was to enter two different competitions. This week back included framing four pieces that were delivered to a show yesterday. I also have a piece that needs to be ready for a show in Cave Creek later this month. I am also considering entering the Arizona State Fair Art Department which is a juried exhibition. Yes....the active show season in Arizona is beginning to roll!! It is my hope that I will be announcing awards and or sales in this blog in the coming weeks!

Impact of Italy

Although I have been doing a lot of plein air painting in our beautiful Sonoran desert of late, I did manage to squeeze in a painting of a window from the town of Cortona that totally caught my fancy as we walked the steep streets and marveled at the medieval town. I am rather pleased with the result. The ancient stones with their many colors and textures and the bright flowers just take me right back to Italy!

I also have a number of pictures of doorways from the hill towns of Tuscany that I plan to paint. I hope that they come out as well as this one!
I see a series in my future!

Bob and I are off to Alaska this week where I plan to sketch and take pictures of what I hear is utterly fantastic scenery! We will be on a rail motorcoach tour from Fairbanks up into Denali National Park including time in Talkeetna near Mount McKinley. We will be on a Princess cruise back down the Inner Passage with stops at Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and finally Vancouver. We scheduled an extra day in Vancouver to tour Victoria including Buchart Gardens (more flowers!). We will then rent a car and drive a scenic highway through the mountains in Washington to spend time with our son and his family near Cooley Dam. I expect to come back with ideas for at least a million or more paintings!!

Fool Hollow State Park Paint Out

On Saturday, July 19th, I participated in the Fool Hollow State Park Paint Out. The Arizona State Parks sponsor a series of monthly paint out across the year. Each month's paint at is scheduled at one of the state parks across the state. Although I have done a lot of plein air painting this was my first competitive plein air outing.

Fool Hollow State Park is a small park surrounding Fool Hollow Lake just outside of Show Low, AZ. There is a great campground, fishing docks, a boat launch, nice ramadas with views of the lake shaded by the towering pines. Truly a great place for a paint out!

Thirteen artists from various locations around the state met at the identified ramada at 8:00 am to sign in and have our paper or canvas stamped on the back. We then had four hours to select a site and complete a painting. At noon we met back at the ramada where the paintings were laid out on picnic tables identified only by a number. The participating artists voted for the first, second and third place paintings. The three paintings will be a part of a year end gallery showing at a gallery in Tubac, AZ

I am not a fast painter, so my primary goal for this first competitive paint out was to bring a piece to a level of completion within the given amount of time. This I accomplished! My second goal was to have fun and meet new people. This was also accomplished! It truly was a great experience. I am looking forward to participating in future state park paint outs!

Catching Up

Summer in Arizona is always hot...but this year they are predicting a hotter than normal summer. We have had a very good start with a number of days over 110. Mornings are wonderful to be outside enjoying the Sonoran Desert....but midday my studio is a great place to be! I have been using the studio time to do some catchup in the form of pieces that were close to completion plein air...but needed some fine tuning and polishing.

Bagno Vignoni Cottage was done in Italy on a day that went from sunny to rainy to cloudy and back to sunny. Luckily my choice of painting position was located under an overhang on a building that allowed me to keep painting as others packed up quickly and ran for cover. This cottage was so picturesque with the reflections in the water, the beautiful old stone and the lush spring vegetation, that it begged to be painted.

Oak Creek Rapids is a piece that was also done plein air in the Sedona area. I found a spot on a large rock on the bank of the creek with the delightful rapids due to rocks and logs right in front of me. I was intrigued if I could capture the action of the rapids.....I am pleased with the results. Sedona is known for the red rocks...but Oak Creek has pulled me to the pastels more than once.