May 2023

April and May were circled in red on my calendar since last year. In addition to being peak plein air painting months, the two main events were Olmsted in April and the Plein Air Convention and Expo (PACE) in May. After I registered for PACE I began to doubt whether it would be a good fit. I am reserved, I hate crowds and if I feel like someone is trying to sell me something, I run in the opposite direction. If you know Eric Rhoads, you know he is in sales mode 24x7, so PACE had red flags flying all over the place. But I’d paid my fees and agreed to bunk up with my friend, Kathy, so I pressed on.

And - go figure - I’m very glad I did! PACE was held in a little town just outside of Denver called Westminster. There were about 1,000 attendees, most of them guzzling Eric Rhoads kool-aid as fast as he poured it. LOL. My strategy was to manage my time carefully and take breaks in our hotel room as needed. It turns out, I didn’t really need those breaks. Each morning I circled the events that piqued my curiosity but stayed flexible. For example, I’d just completed a Christine Lashley workshop, so there was no need to see that again. I’d heard of Camille Przewodek but didn’t know much about her, so I opted in for her demo. There were a few demos that I left after 10-15 minutes because they weren’t the right fit, and went to Plan B.

I wanted to expose myself to things I might not normally attend. Another example:  I’m not a pastelist, but Nancy King Mertze is a legendary pastelist and did a demo on city scapes and perspective. I struggle with perspective and thought perhaps she might have a different way of explaining it that would resonate. And pastels are really just dry oil paints, so I attended her demo. So glad I did. 

Charlie Easton’s demo was also something different. He’s an acrylic painter and outdoorsman who’s based in British Columbia. He’s also one of the youngest plein air painters on the circuit. His classroom approach is quite different from the OG’ers. He’s a very engaging speaker and boils everything down to the key nuggets. The way he prepares and organizes his thoughts before he paints was invaluable and something I’ll incorporate into my own practice. I’ve pondered taking my acrylic paints out for a plein air spin, and now I know exactly how to do that. 

Before the convention I talked to my friend Michelle and asked her who she thought might be a good fit, and she suggested Debra Huse. I’d never heard of Debra before, but I looked her up and her style of painting is right up my alley! And of course, when I saw Jean Stern on the agenda, I made a beeline for his lecture. Mr. Stern has taught me so much art history over the years through his writings on California Impressionism. And lucky me … I got to meet him and tell him what his books have meant to me. I couldn’t get out the words without crying. It even made him tear up. 

By the way, I learned about California Impressionism about two years ago after visiting with Steve Stern, owner of Steven Stern Fine Arts (and Mr. Stern’s nephew). That gallery visit with Steve was a game changer because it exposed me to artists I’d never heard of before. My suggestion to you: when you visit a different city, go to the city’s art museums and galleries because you’ll see work you’ve never seen before by artists you may not have known about. This is part of your education as an artist and art enthusiast. These hours are part of your 10,000 hours required for mastery. 

Another highlight of the convention was painting with HUNDREDS of my fellow plein artists in some of the most beautiful landscapes I’ve ever seen. Piling out of the buses, schlepping our gear over rocks, though canyons and seeing water flowing … what a sight! One day we drove through crazy rain, hail and lightning, set up under the roof of the Visitors Center at Garden of the Gods and eventually the clouds parted and the sun came out. Only Eric Rhoads can pull that off :)

I’d never flown with paints and gear before and felt anxious about how all of that was going to go. I’m the only person who’s going to carry my stuff and wanted to make it as easy as possible, so I bought a duffle bag on wheels. It worked really, really well. My only complaint is that I wish it was on 4 wheels for a bit more stability, but other than that, it was perfect. I rolled it though airports, on a train, through El Dorado Canyon and more. It wasn’t heavy or cumbersome. Piece o ‘ cake! 

Are you wondering how I managed to paint without Gamsol? Well, that wasn’t an issue either. I used water mixable oils for my underpainting and brought a small tube of solvent free gel which I only used a few times. I’ve switched to Williamsburg’s Titanium White, which has a linseed oil based binder and it is perfection. A little dab of white mixed in with my colors and they spread like butter. The oil residue stays in my brushes and helps move the paint.

Are you wondering how I washed my brushes? I didn’t wash them! What??? You don’t have to wash your brushes every time you use them. I wiped them, reshaped them and put a little dab of pink soap conditioner on them until I got back to Atlanta, then washed them. 

Are you wondering how I got wet paintings home? Again … not an issue! When we got back to the hotel I put my painting in the hotel window, facing the sun and let it bake all day. Then I popped them into my wet panel carrier. No issues!

My guess is that every artist has their own ways and methods. Just so happens that this is my way and it works for the way I paint and like to travel. 

As far as our paint outs go, I was not focused on getting a great painting. This was more about camaraderie, the experience of painting the Colorado landscape for the first time and enjoying the weather. This week I’ve worked on touching up the paintings I started and I’m ok with them.

Overall, it was a phenomenal experience and I’m already registered for PACE 2024 in Asheville.

 

 

As my fellow artists headed out to Rocky Mountain National Park, I made my way back to Denver to meet up with Scott who flew in that morning. I was so excited to see him because he’d spent the previous week in Toronto, plus we’d made a bunch of fun plans to explore Denver. 

After a fun afternoon and dinner, we hit the ground running on Friday with our first stop - the American Museum of Western Art, also known as the Anschutz Collection. 

They do not allow photography in the museum and watched us like we were jewel thieves. There were only about 8-10 people in the museum, which also meant all eyes on us. So, I took out my sketchbook and wrote down the name of every single painting and every single artist that rang the bell. In some cases I even sketched the painting so that I could remember exactly what it was about that painting that caught my eye. I also saw my very first John Carlson landscape in person. If you don’t know, John Carlson literally wrote the book on landscape painting. 

The weather was so nice, we decided to walk over to the Denver Art Museum. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but the DAM completely exceeded my expectations. In addition to an incredible exhibition called “Near East to Far West,” we saw works by Manet, Cezanne, Degas, Boudin, Joan Mitchell, Elaine de Kooning, Jordan Casteel, Birger Sandzen, Frank Tenney Johnson, and the great Nicolai Fechin. 

The Clyfford Still Museum is right behind the DAM, so of course, we popped in there for a quick look around. 

In an attempt to beat the crowds, we got up early on Saturday and visited the Denver Botanic Gardens. Their irises were on full display with peonies coming right up next. I’ve never seen so many varieties of irises in my life. Chocolate Ecstasy! What? They also had a beautiful bonsai garden area. There were some similarities to our Atlanta Botanical Garden, but the Denver garden feels much, much bigger. 

After lunch in Union Station we visited several art galleries, including Gallery 1261, which features Quang Ho and Daniel Sprick as well as many other top plein air artists. If you happen to have a spare $55,000 lying around, get yourself an original Quang Ho. Or, you can spend $40K at auction and get this Edgar Payne. It’s half the size, but this is a no brainer, no offense to Mr. Ho.

So … overall, Denver gets a full 10 out of 10! 

OTHER MAY NEWS

The VHPAP art exhibition is up at the Atlanta Botanical Garden! “Summer Blooms” will be on view through the end of July. I’m grateful for my friend, Terry, who helped me organize this show.

And we have new paintings up at the Virginia Highland Bookstore! I’m thankful for my friend, Anne, who pulled that one together. I’m finding that I need more help from my group if we are to continue having exhibitions.

I painted at The Goodrum House and Turnipseed Farms, also painted with the Southside Sketchers several times. I love Saturdays with the Southside Sketchers because I’m not responsible for anything, and the scenery is always so interesting and different from Atlanta.

PAINTINGS AND PHOTOS FROM THIS MONTH

 

 

  

 

 

I gave a brief talk and demo on how to start plein air painting with some new plein air artists in our VHPAP group. Hopefully I was able to help them feel more comfortable about diving in and joining us on our Thursday painting sessions. It’s always helpful to remember that we all had a Day One and that plein air painting is a lifelong pursuit. 

READING

I just finished “Trembling Earth,” a fascinating book about the history of the Okefenokee Swamp. I’m also spending a lot of time revisiting some of my favorite art books by Jean Stern. At the beginning of each week I think about what I want to accomplish, then stack up the books that line up with those intentions. As always, having my Triple M (Monday Morning Meeting) with Brandi is priceless, keeps me laughing, keeps me on track. Love my girl, B.

JUNE

The breakneck pace of the past two months is officially over! That’s a good thing because I need time to digest everything that’s happened, research art and artists and experiment with new ideas. Tomorrow, June 1, is my grandmother’s birthday. I think about her all the time lately. Not sure why she’s been on my mind so much. Had a dream about her last week which hasn’t happened in a while. Grateful for that. I love when she and my dad visit me in my dreams. 

OTIS and JULIUS

Poor little Otis had to spend a whole week without his mama and he still hasn’t recovered. Love that, too. He’s even hanging out with me in my studio, begging for belly rubs and snugs.

Remember … there are no short cuts. Learn about art history. Read books about art and artists. Visit museums and galleries. Sketch in museums and galleries. Listen to those who know more than you do and have more experience. Just because someone has 30K followers on Instagram doesn’t mean they’re an expert! You can buy a blue check/verified for $14.99 a month (awful!), so what does that even mean anymore? (Nothing!) Don’t focus on the outcome. Have fun and experiment, and the results will follow.

See you in a few weeks!