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| 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.
