2011 STEMS PLEIN AIR FESTIVAL

I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted.  Life sometimes gets in the way!  I will try to post more often :)

I just finished with the Stem's Plein Air Festival here in Kansas City.  This spring has been plagued with rain and thunderstorms, plus a few tornadoes.   One morning I was painting the little blue garden shed at the Arboretum.  The weather was overcast, and it started to sprinkle lightly.  Most of the other artists  packed up and left.  I thought to myself..... Now a plein air artist should be prepared to paint in any weather.... so I smugly put up my umbrella and continued to paint.  About 15 minutes later the heaven's opened up and it started to pour.... lightening was flashing, and then the tornado sirens started to blare.  I was fighting my umbrella, while tyring to get all of my gear stored away as my paint bag was filling with water.  I was a mess.   By the time I got everything together.... I could not find anyone!  Finally I found someone running through the parking lot, and followed them to a tornado shelter.  That is where the other artists were.... snug and dry, and I was soaked!  The tornado was sighted close by.... and was the same one that hit Sedelia, Missouri.  I was very fortunate!  About 30 minutes later.... the sun come out!  

The Arboretum's Garden Shed - 11 x 14 - oil on linen board

We all met at the Deanna Rose Farmstead to do a sunrise painting.  I chose to paint the little school house.  I loved the way the sun was shinning brightly onto the side of the school.  We all had a good time.  It is hard to finish a painting within 2 hours.

We turned in our paintings a couple of days ago.... and the judging will be announced tomorrow.  Wish me luck!

Helen's Little School House at Sunrise - Deanna Rose Farmstead - 11 x 14 - oil on linen board

Peak of color on Lake Taneycomo, Branson, Missouri

This was painted from the "Blue Haven Resort boat dock, looking across lake Taneycomo.

Branson Taxi

I visited Branson, Missouri a few weeks ago .... just when the colors were at their peak!  It was lovely.  Here is one of three  paintings I completed, and am turning into the gallery Thursday, for their holiday opening Thursday the 9th of December.

Re: "Cozy Harbor" - SouthPort Maine SOLD

Great news!  My painting, "Cozy Harbor" - SouthPort, Maine Sold at the Rice Gallery exhibit tonight!!!!

The gallery was packed!  I must have left just before it sold.  I am delighted that this painting found a good home :)

Have a great weekend!

"Cozy Harbor" - SouthPort Maine

I just finished this little painting from a plein air sketch and some reference photos taken several summers ago in Boothbay Maine.   It brought back a flood of memories from a class I took with Judie Wagner.  We spent the morning painting in and around the dock area.  Southport is just across Boothbay harbor.  In order to get to this charming island, we had to cross an ancient turn-bridge..... that would stop traffic in order for a ship to sail through the channel.


It was a charming place to paint.... and when we finished up it was lunchtime.  We were treated to the most delightful lunch at E.W. Pratt,.... a white clapboard building built on stilts out over the water.... complete with flaking white paint.  His sign was posted .... lunch served at 11:30 am.  Locals would knock on his door, and he would let them in, but because we were not "Mainer's" we had to wait until it was 11:30!  Inside was a very old lunch counter, tables covered with oil cloth and an antique two-lane bowling alley.   He was renowned for his fresh lobster and crab rolls.   EW  and his staff hand picked the fish just hours before lunch.  There's nothing particularly exotic about this lunch item - great chunks of lobster meat mixed with mayonnaise and served on a hot dog bun - but it was heavenly.  I often wonder if Mr Pratt is still living.   He had to be well into his 80's.. a crusty old sole....with two very senior waitresses not much younger than EW, that made fresh pies daily.  My favorite was the "Maine" blueberry pies!!!!

"Backside of Malibu Moo"

It was finally Saturday morning..... and couldn't  believe that a whole week had passed.  The three of us arrived at Fish Creek to prepare for the final Dockside Quick Paint event.  We arrived early, around 7:00 am and picked out our places to paint.  It was raining and chilly... but in plein air.... you paint.... rain or shine!  I set up my easel, along with my umbrella, but still got soaked.

After setting up our gear...we went to the expresso bar for coffee, and to get out of the rain.  Around 9:00 am, we had to take our canvas to get the official Door County Plein Air Festival stamp.  They delayed the start time this year due to the rain. Finally, with us all at our easels.... the bullhorn sounded.... and two hours raced by before the bullhorn sounded to STOP!  We took our paintings to get them stamped again.... All of the Dockside paintings were to be exhibited at the Peninsula School of Arts final reception that evening.  We rushed home to shower and prepare for the reception.  When we returned to the reception.... I was delighted to see that my painting had sold.  This is a photo of the scene I painted....  I failed to get a photo so I applied a filter to the picture... so you can see what it looked like when I squinted.  Malibu Moo is one of the local favorite places to purchase ice cream delights.  It is always packed... and faces the harbor.

We had a wonderful week, and look forward to next year's event.... God willing!!!

"Maple Street Cottage" - Fish Creek

We retuned again to Fish Creek Friday morning, to pick out what we wanted to paint for Saturday morning's Quick Paint.  I found what I wanted to paint, and made a few sketches.  After lunch I painted this delightful cottage just a few houses away from the bed and breakfast that I painted yesterday.  I loved the way the house peaked out between the trees.... with light falling on the roof, and a few areas on the trees and grass in front of the picket fence.

We have had a wonderful time.  Saturday will mark the end of the Plein Air festival.  We will need to get into town early to have our canvas stamped....will all be ready to paint by 9:00 am.... signaled by a blast of the bullhorn.... and two hours later..... the bullhorn will signal the end of the Quick Paint.  We will need to get our painting stamped again.... and get it framed.  It is a very exciting time.

"Lundenberg Guest House" in Fish Creek

We stayed in Fish Creek for the afternoon.... investigating little side streets that branched off of the main harbor area.

I found an adorable little bed and breakfast inn... called Lundenberg Guest House ..... located at the corner of Maple and Cedar Street. I loved the big wrap-around porch... it seemed to say... come on up and enjoy a chilled glass of Lemonade.

It was just about high noon... you can tell by the bright sunlight on top of the roof, another pretty little lady!

It was interesting painting the white clapboards, and using various violets and blues to suggest shade.

"Noble House"

We started the morning in Fish Creek.

I love this house and all of it's charm... and have painted it before. It is called The "Alexander Nobel House". Alexander Noble was one of Fish Creek's founding fathers. It was built in 1875, when Fish Creek was a thriving fishing and shipping village, complete with dirt streets, and horse-drawn wagons.

I spent the morning painting very comfortable... under the shade of a huge oak tree.

The landscaping in front of the porch area was covered in white hydrangeas. Beautiful morning!

"Waiting For The Rain to Stop"

Due to rain Wednesday evening....we decided to eat in.... and then paint. After dinner we all set up our easels and painted from our covered screened-in porch in our cabin in Baileys Harbor.

Our cabin was called "Sunflower".... and it had every kind of sunflower in it that you could imagine.... pillows, bed coverings, wall hangings, salt and pepper shakers.... etc. It was too funny and cute! Apparently the manager loves to go garage shopping.... and collects all of the sunflower themes she can find... and adds it to the growing collection found in Sunflower.

It was beginning to get dark and rainy, and I tried to capture the essence of dampness and rain of the evening in this little study.

The cabin is right across from Sunflower... right on the edge of the water. It is a lovely authentic old log cabin that has been modernized and updated .... called Kangaroo Kastle, complete with a "cadmium red" deck! In the driveway that circles the cabins.... there is a beautifully landscaped flower garden. The local flower gardens in Door are beautiful. You will find little pallets of color tucked in everywhere. Hollyhocks as tall as a man.... hydrangeas.... cosmos... etc... a joy to behold

I hope you enjoy little snip-its of my trip to Door County. This is the resort that we always stay... and if you are in the area I highly recommend it. It is deep within a wooded area... opening right onto the lake. Here is a quick link so you can see the pictures of the cabins at Sunset Shores Resort. Usually we stay in Lakeside cabin... but it was leased out that week.

No Vacancy - The Black Smith Inn

Early Tuesday morning, we headed into Baileys Harbor to paint in town. I picked a nice shady spot to paint the entrance to this beautiful bed and breakfast...... called The Black Smith Inn. The entrance faces the street, and the back faces the lake. I loved the way the sunlight spilled in between the two buildings.

It is best to paint with your canvas and palette in the shade... not only for comfort.... but for achieving the correct values. Remember that ultimately your paintings will hang on a wall under indoor light. If you were to paint in direct sunlight, you would not be able to judge color values well and the painting, when brought indoors would be too dark overall.

The abundance of flowers are everywhere you look! I am in heaven.... sipping cappuccino in my left hand.... and my paint brush in the other!!! A perfect summer morning.... cool breezes... birds singing.... great painting buddies.... who could ask for anything more.

The Pump House

I just turned in a collection of Plein Air paintings to the gallery from this summer. It is called "Cottages of Door County".

This was the fourth annual Door County Plein Air Festival ... one of the largest plein air paint-outs of the Midwest region. The beauty of this area is diverse and inspirational. It is such a unique area.... Wisconsin's best kept secrete. It is the "Cape Cod" of the Midwest. This is the 3rd year in a row that I have attended with a couple of artist friends. It was an another fun packed week.

We had a variety of weather.... sunny, cloudy and rain.... but we painted our hearts out!!!!

I am posting 6 paintings.... one each evening... from some of the many paintings from my week in Door.

This was from the first morning. We drove to the Lighthouse located in Canna Island. This is one of the small buildings located on the Island. It was the Pump House. I set up under the shade of an old oak tree... and enjoyed the morning... without a care in the world!

"Faster mommy..... faster"

A quick study of my granddaughter and daughter at Deanna Rose's Farmstead. It was sooooooo hot!

"Garden of the gods"

This lovely setting is in Colorado Springs. It is the garden of the gods. Although there are amazing rock formations, I chose this peaceful little area that had a walking trail that disappeared through the pines. My camera is on its last leg.... and the colors are not quite right. the grass in the front is much richer... getting bluer and lighter as it goes back to the mountains. Any recommendations on cameras???

Mary's Pizzaeria - Lugano Switzerland

I started a new painting last night..(Tuesday)... and really got a lot blocked in. It brings back fond memories of when we used to live nearby .... Varese....Italy, just 25 minutes away. The scenery and lake in this area are gorgeous.... probably one of the most beautiful places that I have ever lived!

This is the famous Mary's Pizzeria in Lugano.... the southern, Italian speaking canton in Switzerland. They have the best pizza you've ever tasted! :)

Good News!

Last night (Friday), I attend the reception for the Stems Plein Air preview event. It was a tough competition.... over 250 paintings were submitted. The winners were kept secret... so it was a delightful surprise when I discovered that "Turtle Crossing" received a 2nd place cash award and "Meet Me At the Oak Tree" received an honorable mention award. Joshua Been won best of show. He is a wonderful painter from Colorado.

There have been good sales so far... over 25 paintings were sold.... at the VIP patrons preview party which was held at the Rice Gallery Thursday evening. The paintings will remain at the Art at the Center ... Tomahawk Community Center ... for viewing thru July 11th. The ribbon awarded paintings and the honorable mention winners will be transported to the Arboretum for the much anticipated annual "Stems Garden Soiree Event, June 26th.

It will be a busy June and July! Next weekend I am taking a workshop from Phil Starke, and in July I have to have paintings ready for the Rice reception, and I will be returning to Door County for their annual Plein air event.. with two other painters. This trip has become my favorite event of the year!!! :) While we are in Door, we will be staying at Sunset Shores located in Bailey's Harbor. Thank you Judie!!!! http://www.sunsetshoresresort.com/sunset_shores.html

"Meet Me At The Oak Tree"

Here is my 2nd submission for the Stems Plein Air event. The little white specks are reflection on the wet paint.

This year there has been a huge increase in artists attending the event. There is an amazing amount of talent. The judging and selection for the Stems gala will be done Thursday. We won't hear until late Thursday on the prize awards and selection for display and sale at the Stems gala later on the evening of June 26th.

Turtle Crossing

Getting ready to turn in 3 paintings for the Stems Plein Air event Monday at the Rice Gallery. We started the event on May 22, and it will end on June 7. Judging will begin, and announced on Friday.

Here is one of my submissions... a 16 x 20 that was painted at the Kansas City Arboretum.... over a period of 3 different days.

Far Niente's Spring Folly

It has been a while since my last post! I have been ill with Bronchial Pneumonia, and have not had the energy to paint until now. Spring is here.... my energy is back..... and my plein air bag is re-stocked.....and waiting in the car.....and I'm ready TO GO!

Adirondack's of Door County

I painted this during the 'dockside' quick paint' competition during the week long Plein Air Door County Festival 2009..... sponsored by the Peninsula School of Art, this past summer. It actually won a people's choice award.

The quick paint event was held early Saturday morning..... the final event. We had to get our canvas stamped, and had two hours to complete the painting. The bull horn started and ended the event. This is the 2nd year I attended this event.... and had a wonderful time. In 2008, I actually sold one painting right off of my easel!

I am taking this painting, plus Early November, Taylor's Trail and the yet untitled Barn Makeover to the gallery this afternoon for their opening scheduled for this Friday, the 19th of February from 5:00 - 9:00 pm. Drop by if you are in the area.

Early November

This was from a demo that I did in December during our last gallery opening. Patrons were in a festive spirit, listening to live music, sampling great food, and looking at beautiful paintings. Many were surprised that I only used red, blue, and yellow plus white to complete a painting. It was fun answering questions about how I paint.

The painting was inspired from a walk with my daughter through a beautiful nature trail in Lenexa KS.

Taylor's Trail - Loomis California

Since I have struggled with the barn painting..... I really needed something new that I was excited about. I picked a large.... 36 x36 canvas. For reference.... I used my plein air version and a few digital images that I had taken while attending Mac Hanson's workshop a couple of summers ago in Loomis California. It was a beautiful park but the weather was a miserable! The temperature stayed around the high 90's/100....a real heat wave, so I took shelter in the shade. :D

Laundry Day

I redid "Barn With Blue Door" so many times these last couple of months! You know the story.... fix a little, adjust a little, then you realize that you have a totally new painting! I have about 6 layers of sky..... and who knows how many times I changed the grass... road.. barns.. etc.

Your comments are always welcome!

Re: Barn with Blue Door

I am reposting my barn so you can see my progress. I am still not finished...... I have been diligently working over the pink sky. I am getting close.... then just adding the finish details.

Barn With Blue Door

My newest painting is a barn I saw this summer in Iowa..... set in the middle of cornfields......on my way back from Door County. I snapped the photo from the hiway as we were driving back home! The unusual blue door of this bar attracted me, It is still in the rough stages. I had a blue sky, but it competed with the blue door..... so I decided to paint the sky a brilliant pink as an undertone. After the undertone is dryer, I will scrub blue on top of the pink.... to see if I can get an interesting vibration going! I will post the finished painting soon. Keep your fingers crossed that this will work! :)

Sycamore Lane

Great news...... I was invited to join the Rice Gallery of Fine Arts! Yesterday, I finished up all of the paperwork, and delivered 9 paintings just in time to be included in this month's landscape exhibit. Drop by and enjoy colorful people... great art... good food and beverages.. and music too, Friday, October 16 - 5:00 - 9:00 pm! I am very excited to be included in this beautiful gallery!

Finished this new painting that I started last week.... although it was a bit wet, the gallery wanted it for the exhibit. I will write more after the opening reception..... Hope to see some of you Friday evening.

Untitled

I started a new painting last night. Here is a picture of the underpainting so far. I am really enjoying the larger size, (36 x 36), using large brushes, and the square format. It went together fast.... all in about 1 1/2 hours! So glad that it is Friday, and I have a whole weekend to work on it. Who knows..... maybe I can complete it this weekend! Will post followup pictures this weekend. It is my favorite time of the year..... walking among all of the glorious colors of fall.

Edge Of Summer

Another painting finished. This landscape is from my neighborhood walking trail in Corporate Woods, Overland Park, KS. I painted this one earlier on location, en plein air (8 x 10), and used it as a reference for making a larger studio painting.

Alfresco

I am finally finished! This one took far too long. It became very complicated. I think I will turn it against the wall, and re-look at it in a couple of weeks. This will give me 'fresh eyes' when I look at it again, and hopefully catch any glaring errors that I missed.

The Golden Hour

This was a tough one to do, and took me much longer to finish.
In order to push the hedge row back into the distance, I had to cool and simplify. I painted flagstones then removed them because it became too important. I altered the values in the flower bed between the table and the chair..... and the list just goes on and on :) I swear, it becomes a 'war' between you and the painting.... and I want to WIN! :)

Re: Stems Garden Soiree

I am back home.... and the reception was lovely..... and PACKED!!! The judges had to select from over 270 paintings. There were many, many beautiful paintings. I promised to report back to you the results for my paintings.

Much to my surprise..... "Path to Grape Bower" won 2nd place

"Marder Woodland Garden - Station #5 and "View Across Margaret's Pond" both won honorable mention........sooooo...... that means all 3 of my paintings will make it into the Stems Garden Soiree's auction next Saturday evening. I am so pleased and excited!

I think in total .... about 50 paintings will be on display for the Stem's Garden auction next week. I feel very honored to be among them.

I think tonight..... I might fall asleep with a huge smile on my face!