Paint Out Schedule

 

View from Champlin Beach Park on Keuka Lake

Announcing the PAINT OUT dates for this summer and fall!

Subscribe to my blog, or check back here for posted Paint Out dates for Painting our Parks. I will be posting more dates as they are planned. Feel free to message me if you have questions. These sessions are not classes, just informal paint-alongs. I will ask to keep your painting for a final exhibit at local libraries.

• Sunday, August 18, 2-4 pm - Denison Park, Corning NY. Meet by the gazebo on the island in Denison Park. Come to watch or paint with me, all supplies are provided. 
• Thursday, August 29th, 12:30pm -2 pm - Centerway Square and Centennial Park, Corning NY. Come to watch or paint with me, all supplies are provided. Look for my "Painting our Parks" sign.
  
• Sunday, September 1, 2-4 pm - Depot Park, Hammondsport NY. Meet at the picnic tables near the swimming beach area. Look for my "Painting our Parks" sign. Come to watch or paint with me, all supplies are provided. 
• Thursday September 5, 2-4pm - Champlin Beach, Hammondsport, NY. Look for my "Painting our Parks" sign. Come to watch or paint with me, all supplies are provided. 
• Thursday September 12, 2-4pm. Amelia Pond, Spencer Crest Nature Center, Corning, NY. Look for my "Painting our Parks" sign. Come to watch or paint with me, all supplies are provided.
  

 "Painting Our Parks" is an interactive exploration of painting in public parks. I want to bring the act of painting to the public, to demystify the process and make it a community event. Making art more accessible to the general public is extremely important to me, and I believe public art enriches our community. Throughout the year I will pick public parks in the Steuben County for a series of plein air painting sessions with public interaction. I will call these sessions "Paint Outs". The public will be invited to watch, ask questions, and participate in the plein air painting process.

To be notified of "Paint Out" events and receive time and location details please subscribe to this blog, or email me at bbbvanotterloo@gmail.com.

I will announce locations and dates for these "Paint Outs" for the public to participate on my social media channels and email mailing list. While painting on location, I will invite the public to participate in the following ways: to ask questions, watch for as long as they like, and paint on provided materials. I will set up an additional easel next to mine, and use park picnic tables. Watercolor paper, paint, brushes, and other supplies will be provided for them to create with. I will give feedback to participants, but it will not be a formal workshop session, more of an open air studio session.

For the past few years I have been exploring “plein air” painting. “En plein air” is a French phrase meaning “in the open air.” I love being outside as much as possible, and during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, this was the only way to work with fellow artists. Before this new direction of landscape painting most of my work focused on representational floral and still life paintings created in my studio. Venturing outside of my studio has expanded my painting world, and I am challenged in new ways beyond the classical still life. When painting outside, I am limited to a few hours of painting time by the weather conditions and my energy level. This has forced me to focus on the most important elements of a painting – the sense of place, direction of light, color temperatures, and what I want to communicate in a painting. I look forward to sharing this love of plein air painting with the public.

The final piece of my project will be an exhibit that rotates through Steuben County libraries. These venues will be free and accessible to the public.

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes.

 

Painting Our Parks

 

I am excited to announce that I've received a grant from the Arts Council of the Southern Finger Lakes and the New York State Council on the Arts Statewide Community Re-grant program for a year-long project, "Painting our Parks". These grants fulfill a vital mission of The ARTS Council for making arts and culture accessible to all and to supporting creative expression that inspires a more diverse and inclusive region.

"Painting Our Parks" will be an interactive exploration of painting in public parks. I want to bring the act of painting to the public, to demystify the process and make it a community event. Making art more accessible to the general public is extremely important to me, and I believe public art enriches our community. Throughout the year I will pick public parks in the Steuben County for a series of plein air painting sessions with public interaction. I will call these sessions "Paint Outs". The public will be invited to watch, ask questions, and participate in the plein air painting process.

To be notified of "Paint Out" events and receive time and location details please email me at bbbvanotterloo@gmail.com.

I will announce locations and dates for these "Paint Outs" for the public to participate on my social media channels and email mailing list. While painting on location, I will invite the public to participate in the following ways: to ask questions, watch for as long as they like, and paint on provided materials. I will set up an additional easel next to mine, and use park picnic tables. Watercolor paper, paint, brushes, and other supplies will be provided for them to create with. I will give feedback to participants, but it will not be a formal workshop session, more of an open air studio session.

For the past few years I have been exploring “plein air” painting. “En plein air” is a French phrase meaning “in the open air.” I love being outside as much as possible, and during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, this was the only way to work with fellow artists. Before this new direction of landscape painting most of my work focused on representational floral and still life paintings created in my studio. Venturing outside of my studio has expanded my painting world, and I am challenged in new ways beyond the classical still life. When painting outside, I am limited to a few hours of painting time by the weather conditions and my energy level. This has forced me to focus on the most important elements of a painting – the sense of place, direction of light, color temperatures, and what I want to communicate in a painting. I look forward to sharing this love of plein air painting with the public.

The final piece of my project will be an exhibit that rotates through Steuben County libraries. These venues will be free and accessible to the public.

Please leave me comment or email me if your are interested in participating in this project. 

See you in our parks!

-Bridget

Sign up to my mailing list for notifications: 

Painting Our Parks 2024- 2025

 

 

#nysca #supportarts #artscouncil #newyorkartists #paintingourparks #pleinair #nyparks #steubencountyny #exploresteuben #artscouncilsfl

Fall Workshops and Classes

 

  Fall 2023 Workshops and Classes

En Plein Air Watercolor Painting Workshop with Franklin Street Gallery in Watkins Glen 

Friday, September 22nd, 1-5 pm

Thanks to a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts, this workshop is only $10. including all the supplies! Space is limited, so don't wait. Sign up here: En Plein air Watercolor

Painting Fall Mushrooms – Studio Workshop

Sunday September 24, 1-4 pm

BBvO Studio, Corning NY

In person or Online

https://bridget-bossart-van-otterloo.square.site/

Watercolor Painting at 171 Cedar Arts Center - Mixed Level

Classes start Tuesday October 3^rd

Morning and Evening Classes, 5 week sessions

https://171cedararts.org/product/mixed-level-watercolor-painting-pm-fall-1-2023/

Introduction to Watercolor Painting

Corning Community College Workforce

Elmira, New York

Saturday October 21, 1-4 pm

https://www.corning-cc.edu/community-business/programs-courses/watercolor.php

Sip & Paint Fall Colors

Point of the Bluff Winery on Keuka Lake

Sunday October 22, 1-3 pm

https://pointofthebluffvineyards.com/event/sip-paint-fall-colors/

Make your own Holiday Cards – Studio Workshop

Sunday November 12, 1-4 pm

BbvO Studio, Corning NY

In person or Online

https://bridget-bossart-van-otterloo.square.site/

* If you would like to plan a workshop for a group of friends, your organization, or non-profit, contact me at bbvanotterloo@gmail.com

Summer Workshops

Take a Workshop with me this summer!

I'll be teaching a variety of watercolor workshops this summer. I'd love to see you at one or more!

Riverside Watercolor Painting with Friends of the Chemung River   Two Dates: Saturday, June 24,  1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Saturday, July 22, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm This outdoor painting program will be held at the Bottcher’s Landing Boat Launch in the Town of Big Flats. The workshop will take place in the shaded area under the pavilion, or participants can bring their own camping chairs and move around the property. More info and Register Here: chemungriverfriends.org

Watercolor Painting at Bluebird Trail Farm Caton, NY Two Dates: Wednesday, July 12, 6 -8 pm Sunflower Painting Gather a beautiful collection of sunflowers and then learn how to paint them! All materials included…take the sunflowers home too! $25 per person ( all ages) Wednesday, August 9, 6-8pm Vegetable Painting Grab a squash, tomato or cucumber from the garden and then learn how to paint your veggie. All materials include and take home the tomato! $25 per person ( all ages) Register here: www.bluebirdtrailfarm.org/summer-arts-schedule    bluebirdtrailfarm@gmail.com 607-329-4023 www.bluebirdtrailfarm.org

Returning this Fall! Introduction to Watercolor Painting with SUNY CCC Saturday October 21, 1-4pm These workshops will be an intense three hours focusing on the basics of watercolor painting. All supplies are included in the cost of the class. More information and registration here: Watercolor with SUNY

Gift Certificates are available to use towards a painting, Studio Workshop, or Private lesson in my studio or online. Email me for more information: bbvanotterloo@gmail.com

 

Quarry Farm Fellow, June 2022 Artist Residency

Last week I had the honor of being a Quarry Farm Fellow with Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies. Quarry Farm was the summer home of Mark Twain’s family. He spent over twenty summers here, writing many of his classics from his octagonal study on the hill overlooking the Chemung river valley. I could see why he and his family loved it here, the view and breeze from the valley is heavenly. Over my five-day stay at Quarry Farm I completed five paintings, one painting a day! I set for myself this goal at the beginning of the week, and was happy to achieve it. My work feels like play (most of the time) and the right environment can help me stay in that flow state needed to create work. Quarry Farm is an ideal place for inspired concentration. There is a peacefulness accompanied by bird song that made the perfect background for plein air painting. 

What I enjoy about plein air painting is the time pressure and challenge of finishing a painting in about 4-5 hours. It forces me to loosen up, to not be too tight or get caught up in too many details. You have to stand back from your subject and think, what is most important here? What should I focus on, and what can be left out? Then you can only stand out on the lawn for so long with the flies sticking in your paint, and the spongy moth caterpillars parachuting down from the trees – you have to get right to the heart of the painting.

"Quarry Farm" 11x14 oil painting by Bridget Bossart van Otterloo

There is a lot of history here at Quarry Farm, you can read more about it here: https://marktwainstudies.com/about/quarry-farm/, and take virtual tour of the historic home here: https://marktwainstudies.com/online-resources/quarry-farm-virtual-tour/

When I wasn't painting, I enjoyed exploring the historic house, checking out all the books in the library and study, and walking around the grounds.

Quarry Farm Parlor

I spent most of my time out on the front porch painting and observing. The light was best here for painting, and the view was always inspiring.

View from the Quarry Farm Porch

Painting "Housed on the Hill"

 "Housed on the Hill" 11x14 oil painting by Bridget Bossart van Otterloo

Spending the week out on the porch and in the historic house made me feel like I was stepping back in time. I could imagine all the time Mark Twain, his family, and friends spent here. Susan Crane really achieved her goal of making Quarry Farm a place people wanted to be, enjoying their own company, and the company of others.

"But we are housed here on top of the hill, now, where it is always cool, & still, & reposeful & bewitching." Samuel Clemens to William Dean Howells, 14 June, 1877, Elmira NY

Samuel Clemens

Even on rainy days, the landscape was inspiring, and the porch was my shelter from the elements. I had to complete this painting, "Rainy Day View" in about two hours, as the rain and wind started coming in sideways on the porch. I really like the freshness and sense of atmosphere in this painting.

"Rainy Day View" 8x10 oil by Bridget Bossart van Otterloo

Here is a view of the Chemung River Valley on a clear day. I'm sure one could see the river and valley below even more clearly back in Mark Twain's day. 

"Chemung Valley View" 10x14 watercolor by Bridget Bossart van Otterloo

The porch lattice work and circular windows silhouetted the gardens surrounding the house perfectly. I tried to capture the feeling of the bright light beyond the shelter of the porch here in this watercolor painting.

"Garden View" 10x14 watercolor by Bridget Bossart van Otterloo

Quarry Farm Gardens

Two paintings from my residency, "Quarry Farm" 11x14 oil, and "Rainy Day View" 8x10 oil, will be framed and join the Quarry Farm Collection. 

Thank you Elmira College and Jospeh Lemak for this opportunity.

Studio Workshops are Back!

 

Studio Workshops are back!

 Sunday Afternoon Watercolor Workshops

Sunday May 22, 1:00 - 4:00 pm - Painting Spring Flowers

Sunday June 26, 1:00 - 4:00 pm - Painting Summer Flowers

    Join me for a relaxing afternoon of watercolor painting in my Corning, NY studio. All experience levels are welcome, and all supplies are included.
Working with live plant specimens, students will learn to draw and paint plants with accurate detail. We will go over the basics of botanical drawing and watercolor painting techniques. I will be teaching the classical botanical style of working in thin transparent layers of watercolor. Our plant subjects will be different for each workshop, usually what's in season.
You must be fully vaccinated to attend these in person workshops. Please email me a photo of your vaccination card when you register for this class. bbvanotterloo@gmail.com

 

How to Register:
$60 per student per class. Includes all supplies.
Easy Registration here:

 https://bridget-bossart-van-otterloo.square.site/

 

Or mail a check to Bridget van Otterloo, 10 Jackson Circle, Corning NY

Please provide your contact information when registering. 

 

 Email me at bbvanotterloo@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

 

I hope to see you soon!

-Bridget

Sign up here!

 Many thanks to the ARTS Council for helping me purchase a HEPA Air filter to make my studio safer for you all!

This opportunity is made possible in part by the Artist Development grant
program administered by The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes and
funded by the Community Foundation of Elmira-Corning and the Finger Lakes,
Inc.

Interview with the Friends of the Chemung River Watershed

A Local Artist’s Perspective on the Beauty of the Chemung River Watershed

by chemungriverfriends

"Seven Sisters along the Chemung" watercolor by Bridget Bossart van Otterloo

For those of you who have not yet heard, we are hosting a workshop by local artist and educator Bridget Bossart van Otterloo on June 17 from 5-7PM. Riverside Watercolor Painting Workshop (click here to register or visit our website under Programs) will be held at Bottcher’s Landing Boat Launch Pavilion in the shaded area under the pavilion. During this workshop, participants will be supplied with a variety of high-quality art supplies, instruction from Mrs. van Otterloo, and a pleasant Thursday evening outside to enjoy our natural world! I recently sat down with this locally renowned artist and instructor and asked her about her love for the Chemung River and why she wanted to offer this workshop in partnership with the River Friends.

So, Bridget–is it okay if I call you Bridget?–you aren’t originally from here, is that right? Tell us what brought you to the Southern Tier and a little bit about your background.

Bridget is fine–that is what my students call me! I am originally from New Jersey and moved to Corning about 20 years ago after falling in love with the area. I first came to the Southern Tier to be a studio apprentice with Thomas Buechner, who was a famous artist in Corning, and I fell in love with the natural beauty of the region and decided to make it my home. I was somewhat familiar with the area because I studied studio art and biology at Houghton College in Allegany County. I am also an avid runner, gardener, and outdoor enthusiast, and just preferred the pace of life in the Southern Tier to the buzz of the tri-state area.

Great, we love it here too. Glad to have you as a community neighbor! Are you familiar with the Chemung River, and is this your first time teaching an outdoor painting workshop on nature?

Oh yes, I have kayaked the Chemung River often in the Addison/Corning area, and my husband takes his kayak out on the Chemung as well. We enjoy paddling down the Tioga to the Chemung, and ending at the Cohocton Street Boat Launch by World Kitchen in Corning. We also kayak on around the Finger Lakes, taking in the natural beauty and looking for specific plants and species of waterside wildlife. I also enjoy running the riverside trails near West Elmira. I have also taught many painting workshops through the region and have always enjoyed plein air, which is a French term for outdoor painting. I recently offered a plein air workshop at Point of the Bluff Winery on Keuka last year during the pandemic. It was very successful, and I considered that people in the Corning/Elmira area might enjoy a riverside painting workshop, which is why I reached out to you.

What do you enjoy about the Chemung River that made you decide that it would be an interesting focus for a plein air workshop?

Well, it is where I live, and I love this area! It is so peaceful, and there is such a wide variety of wildlife and changing scenery. It is truly a work of art in itself. I have actually painted a few pieces that have focused on the Chemung River in watercolor when I was working with a local poet, Michael Czarnecki. Michael received a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts, and the purpose of the grant was to work with another artist to create a multi-media work using poetry and watercolor with nature being our focus.

Wow! That sounds like a great project! Why are landscapes and the natural world something you like to paint?

When you sit down to paint a landscape, you really observe it. You have a chance to learn more about it, you focus on the surrounding colors, the wildlife, the plants, and you learn so much more about it then if you were just glancing at it during a Sunday drive. Sitting down to paint a landscape and natural surroundings gives you an opportunity to appreciate what you are looking at and really connect with nature, and this is important to me.

Why is it important for you to connect to nature?

As you know, we are all stewards of our environment, not just the friends of the river. We need to care about our environment in order to preserve it, because without our natural world we would cease to exist. We need it to live just as much as it needs us to live. When we notice the beauty of something, we tend to want to take care of it. And when you sit down to paint or sketch something, you tend to observe its beauty. Environmental causes like preserving parks and green spaces are important to biodiversity, and if we lose biodiversity, our lives are impacted and our health suffers. Everything is connected, and without plants and animals, we wouldn’t have enough food or air or water!

That is a great point! We certainly know how important water and biodiversity is to our community’s public health, and we work to preserve this everyday. Why do you think people should come to this program and try watercolor painting? Not everyone is so talented in terms of art and painting.

Art is like any other skill: anyone can learn it when they dedicate time to it. It has much more to do with practice, dedication, and interest than people think. And art means many different things to many different people, as does beauty. What I think is beautiful, you may not, but I will never judge what someone wants to create. I think creation is beautiful, no matter the outcome. Adults are some of the most difficult students I have because they are so self-critical. If I was telling someone why they should come to the workshop on June 17, I would tell them to come to be outside and have fun and act like a kid! Kids know how to just have fun and just create, they don’t judge what they come up with, they just enjoy the process. Come and enjoy the process, and tell that self-critical voice to pipe down for a few hours, and just enjoy being outside by the river and learning a new skill!

Well said! We hope everyone pre-registers for your workshop on June 17, which they can do from our website under “Programs” or by clicking here. We hope it is successful, and if it is, we will surely do more. Thank you again!

 

Fresh Flowers at 171 Cedar Arts Center

Fresh Flowers by Bridget Bossart van Otterloo

Fresh Flowers - 171 Mosaics 2020

I've painted 16 6x6 oil paintings for this year's popular show. You can preview them on my Facebook page: Bridget Bossart van Otterloo

Mosaics 2020 features work by 20 regional Artists and will be on view in the Houghton Gallery at 171 Ceder Arts Center from October 23 - November 13, 2020.

This year’s Exhibition Opening is by appointment only starting October 23 from 6 to 9 PM and October 24 from 12 to 8 PM. Appointments are 30 minutes each and limited to 8 people.

Follow this link to be the first to view and purchase art this year:

https://171cedararts.org/product/mosiac-exhibit-pass

FLXgives LIVE - Episode 2 - May 12th, 2020

Virtual Studio Visit with Bridget Bossart van Otterloo

Enjoy this virtual studio visit with views of my paintings, and a look at one of my botanical paintings on copper leaf in progress.
Thanks for stopping by!
Bridget