Right on the Water, 8x10, plein air, Door County Quick Paint

For those of you not familiar with a Quick Paint, or Quick Draw event, it is essentially when artists are given a set amount of time and a limited area in which to paint a plein air painting, frame it, and exhibit it for sale. This piece was created during the Door County Wisconsin, Peninsula Art School Plein Air Festival last week. The parameters for this particular Quick Paint allowed for two hours to produce the work. The paintings were then exhibited on easels and sold at live auction. I am also attaching a picture of the crowd at the auction . . . just BEFORE a rain storm came through. Ahhh, the perils of plein air!

Feeding off others: Children's Portraits

We met again at Jason Saunder's place to push ourselves and grow. So here we go . . . children's portrait studies. We had Jason's two children; one each for two hours. Jason had also set up still lifes around the room so everyone had plenty of choices. Again, this is not a "performance" class. It's about challenging yourself to try something. This was definitely a challenge, and so much fun!

Feeding off others: Textures, 24x18, oil on canvas

Working in a room with other artists is good food for the painting soul. Even though everyone is quietly working alone, there is a sense of community. Jason Saunders recently began a studio group painting time in his new studio. This past Wednesday night, about 13 of us gathered to paint various still life set ups for about 4 hours. In that kind of setting, it does not matter what your medium is or your level of experience. We're all just artists trying to grow.