Summer's Over? Hardly!

Doesn't it seem like summer just started? Every year it flies by so quickly. I'm still in the thick of it, with several painting events coming up in the next couple of weeks. Here is my schedule:

Friday, September 12 - Quick Paint from 2-5pm in downtown Delafield, WI with and opening reception for the Wisconsin Plein Air Painters Members Show "Brush With The Wind" at the Delafield Art Center that evening. (http://wipapa.blogspot.com/)

September 13-14 - My work will be on display in the River's Edge Gallery booth at the Hidden River Arts Festival (http://www.wilson-center.com/hidden-river-art-festival)

September 17-20 - Plein Air Shorewood, a plein air painting festival in Shorewood, WI (See their website for a schedule of events: http://pleinairshorewood.com/) The Show and Sale is Saturday, September 20 at 6:30pm at the Shorewood Public Library. There are also events during the day that will allow you to preview the work. I hope you can come!

September 28 - Opening reception, "The Art of Preservation" - Rahr-West Museum, Manitowoc, WI

I thought I'd share a quick study and the finished studio painting I did from the study to show one of my methods of working out the kinks in my paintings. It really helps to have the opportunity to paint from life whenever possible. I painted the study from life at the Green Bay Botanical Garden in about an hour. The studio work took about a week. The study is 11x14, while the finished studio work is 24x30. I've accumulated hundreds of photos from similar scenes to work on throughout the winter, so the small studies that I've done will help. The finished studio painting shown here will be on display (and available for purchase) at the Rahr-West Museum in Manitowoc, WI, from September 28 to November 2, 2014.

A Day at the Botanical Garden by Kathleen Eaton

Painting Fast

On Saturday I participated in my third annual Dockside Quick Paint in Fish Creek, WI. This annual event is in conjunction with the week-long Plein Air Festival sponsored by the Peninsula School of Art. The energy is contagious and the joy of painting with other artists is invigorating. Between 100-200 artists each year gather in about a 4-block area, surrounded by curious onlookers. A horn blows at 9am, and the artists must create a painting from a blank canvas in two hours. At 11am, the horn sounds again, and brushes must be put down.

I enjoy talking with people when I paint outdoors, but this competition is nerve-wracking. Most of the observers understand that, and stand back to watch the paintings come together, talking in low tones about the progress. It can be very encouraging to hear whispers of "look at how she did that" and "I love how the light hits there." Because of the size and detail in this work, I chose to work mainly with a pallet (or painting) knife with thick paint. The outcome is a much "looser" work than I normally would do, and it helps me to skip the detail and paint quickly.

I have to admit, I was shaking at the start, and was pretty focused throughout most of my effort. This is the first year that I painted right up to the second horn, and wished I had a little more time. I may have bitten off more than I should have with the complication of this piece in such a short time slot, but all-in-all I was happy with the outcome. And someone else was happy enough with it to buy it at the reception that evening. I hope they realize that oil paints can take a long time to dry!

Here is my painting, "Linger." It depicts a lovely little coffee shop in downtown Fish Creek, WI - in the middle of Door County. Thank you to all the volunteers who help make this event successful!