I was quoted in the Capital Journal again! This "Plein Air" event gave me the opportunity to commune with a lot of well known Kansas artists who work full time in their craft. They are living the dream! It was very inspiring to be around so many creative people.
Having not painted "Plein Air" before, it was an exciting challenge. While talking to the other artists who are not golfers, I found that being a golfer myself, I had a different perspective on the subject. I selected a spot on hole 3, in the rough near a maple tree which had started to color for fall and began with that as inspiration. As the painting developed, I started to imagine how I would feel if I actually had my ball lying where I was painting. Suddenly, the trees became looming obstacles and I could see the light over the hill which hid my goal. This created the opportunity for me to personalize the piece with an emotional reaction. Here is my result from the day:
Below is the article:
Ann Williamson/The Capital-Journal
Lawrence artist Stan Herd puts the finishing touches on a plein air painting Monday at the Topeka Country Club.
Golfers let artists paint through
Published Tuesday, October 10, 2006
By Bill BlankenshipAbout two dozen artists spent the morning painting outdoors at the tree-lined, 18-hole private golf course in an event organized by Gary Blitsch, owner of the SouthWind Gallery at Framewoods of Topeka.
The French term for what the artists were doing is "en plein air," which means "in the open air," and for some of the artists, outdoors is the only place to work.
"In my book, painting outside is a necessity. You learn so much more outside than you do in your studio," said Judith Mackey, the Cottonwood Falls artist known for her landscapes of the Flint Hills and the Kansas prairies. "Nature is a good teacher."
While Hugh Greer, an award-winning artist from Wichita, spends more time painting in a studio than outdoors, he agreed about plein air exposing an artist to colors beyond his imagination.
"Colors come out of you here that you wouldn't normally see," Greer said.
Working outside often requires a faster pace than painting in the studio, he added.
Dana Hassett, a painter who recently moved to the Topeka area from Burns, called plein air painting "more tactile" than working in a studio.
"I think you get the real essence in a painting when you're in the fresh air and the wind blows your easel over," she joked.
Like Mackey, Hassett is more used to painting in the open prairies than on a carefully groomed golf course like Topeka Country Club.
"It's a little more manicured, to say the least," she said.
However, Stan Herd, of Lawrence, spotted a connection between the golf course greens and the fields where he has created works of art.
Pointing out the mowing patterns on one green, Herd said, "It reminds me of lines in a field. That pattern tripped my trigger."
Herd said he recently immersed himself in plein air painting when he and his son did a 12-day, 104-mile trek from Lawrence to Cottonwood Falls, during which he created 16 paintings.
Topeka artist Michelle Leivan was trying plein air painting for the first time Monday.
"I paint outside a lot, but I usually do it from a reference photo or from my head," said Leivan, whose inspiration Monday was the turning of maple leaves to their autumn colors.
When they made way for afternoon golfers, some of the artists had nearly finished works. Others will use what they did Monday as a starting point.
"You get basic shadows, basic lights, forms, shapes, then you take the thing into the studio and refine it," Walsh said.
The final works that began Monday at the Topeka Country Club will be displayed and sold there at a Dec. 5 reception.
Bill Blankenship can be reached at (785) 295-1284 or bill.blankenship@cjonline.com.
To start off one of the German artists, Wojciech Cypko, was unable to make it due to his health so he sent his son and the son's girlfriend. Dillon and I rode up the elevator with them and they were delightful.
Then I met another German artist, Irene Brandt who's day job is a translator of Spanish and English. She is warm and inviting. She finds it fun to watch people smile when the veiw her pieces.
After that I discovered one of my "neighbors" on the wall, Derek Alvarez and discovered he was from Tucson, AZ. He is a young artist who enjoys showing his work in the west. He was joined by two friends and was as excited as I was about showing in NYC.
Finally from the artists, I met Anissa Mendez my other "neighbor" on the wall and she is a teacher from a Brooklyn school and I'll tell you Dillon was certainly wishing she'd move to town so that he could take art classes from her. She is a whole lot of fun and was surrounded by suportive friends and family. (Ok, I look like I've had too many drinks in this picture but I swear I was just having fun!)
The evening really got interesting when I was approached by a fascinating guy. He asked me if I was one of the artists, when I said, "yes" he told me that he had something for me. He handed me 4 pieces of paper with printed images of my paintings saved from the web and prose that he wrote about how my pieces had moved him. I was surprised and delighted. His poetry is pretty insightful and I think they make an interesting juxaposition to the three pieces for which I myself wrote prose. I also find it interesting to discover the reaction my audience has and he has certainly found a fun way to convey his reactions. He is an Algebra teacher in the area and has done over 5000 of these pieces, drawing from artist's pieces he found showing in various NYC galleries. The number at the beginning coresponds to the number of the poem he has done for the piece there are also pieces that he does more than one poem for. He says that he never knows where a piece will take him and he is usually surprised by the outcome. He does not post the painting/poetry on his website but there are some other poems he wrote. If you would like to know more about him here is his website: www.theskaldicsoul.com
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I was selected as an artist for this art Fair: I hope to see you at the fair! Please stop by my booth and say "Hello."
I had the opportunity to work on this project this week. I have been spending evenings going down to help finish this project. The lead artist Cally Krallman and notable Governor’s Muse, Don Lambert were great to work with and I believe we did justice to this historic event. I got to spend most of my time working on the Dragoons at the south end of the mural shown here.
Afterglow: 30"x24"
I am almost speachless. After many years of toil I have finally found representation in NYC through Agora Gallery, 415 West Broadway, Soho, NY.
I currently have 4 of my sunflower paintings (posted below) displayed in the innersanctum of the Kansas Govenor's office! They were selected by the one of the Govenor's personal friends who helps to concieve of themes for quarterly rotation of images inside the Capital. Luckily several of my paintings were on display at SouthWind Gallery in Topeka and she selected all 4 of my pieces to hang in the meeting room just outside the Governor Sebelius's working space. The huge space was perfect for my large format paintings. They will be on display through June.
It's Been Too Long: 57"x57"
Responsive: 6"x4"
Resistant: 4"x6"
Reactive: 4"x6"
Explosion: 36"x48"
Triumphant: 36"x48"
Windswept: 57"x57"
Permissive: 30"x30"
Coy: 30"x30"Looking to make your next Family Game Night more creative?
Keep in mind, you must please the Juror to win the round and collect the Spark Word card. Win enough Spark Cards and you can declare yourself an “Art Genius” and the Winner of the game.
