Monthly Painting Meet ups
Good news for Plein Air Painters!
Vicki Pritchard, chair of our plein air group, has made some changes that we think you’ll love. Instead of only the first Tuesday after our meeting, she’s will to coordinate plein air outings for every Tuesday in the month. Read all about it below, click on the Wildlife Refuge link to get a map and more directions:
On April 15 we start our new session at Crystal River Wildlife Refuge (1502 SE Kings Bay Dr, Crystal River, 34429-4661), at 9 am. We will meet there April 15, April 22, April, 29, and May 6.
For those who want to observe or participate, afterwards we will have a short show-and-tell of what we worked on that morning. Then, for those that want to go out to lunch together, we will pick a place, after the show-and-tell.
Remember, there is no pressure in this group. You don’t have to produce a painting or drawing. You may simply use it as a photography session, and do your painting at home in your studio. Or you may just want to watch and enjoy these beautiful spots we pick on the Nature Coast in the safety of friends. If you are new to the area, it is a good way to explore your new “home.”
Drive west on 44, then turn south or left onto HWY 19, then in ABOUT a mile. you’ll see a Wendys on the right and a shopping center behind it. Then a light at that corner. You can turn right at this light onto SE Kings Bay Drive. (Left if you are coming from the Homosassa.) It will go straight for a while, then wind around through fancy 2-3 story homes on the water, then you will see the Wildlife Refuge on the right and the parking lot on the left. At the Wildlife Refuge it changes street names, from SE Kings Bay Drive , to SE Paradise. It is a large cracker style structure on stilts (protection from floods), composed of two buildings connected with a tall deck between them. Climb either the stairs or take the wheelchair ramp up onto the deck and walk across the deck to the backyard. There the view is a gassy lawn, to a sea wall with docks and water, sky, and then a few hundred yards in front of you is a jungle island. Bring your own chair. There is information below about what supplies you need.
Contact Vicki Prichard for more information
[email protected]
352 287 9365
Members meet each month October through May
to paint on site at scenic locations in and around Citrus County. Weather permitting of course, the group meets at 9 AM – a bit earlier if you want to scout out a particular image. Around noon they get together for lunch at a nearby restaurant and discuss how the plein air experience went … hopefully you captured the perfect scene. All ability levels are welcome. It’s fun!
These meet ups are now every Tuesday. watch this spot for updates on locations.
Supplies
Watercolors (small palette with color or tubes) brushes, covered water container, paper and a foam board or cardboard support or a watercolor block. Watercolor pencils work well also. Supplies should fit in a small rolling cart, backpack or shoulder bag. A portable easel, folding stool or chair is also good.
Plein Air Tips
- Wear a hat, and a scarf may add to your pleasure. It is suggested that you bring a light jacket to start off, with a long sleeve shirt and tee shirt underneath. That way you should be comfortable removing a layer as the day warms. Bring a piece of plastic in case of a shower so you can forget about getting wet and concentrate on painting.
- You can carry OFF (in a packet) to ward off any bugs and sun block for the backs of hands and sometimes the back of neck area.
- Paint should be watercolor on paper. Acrylics, watercolor pencils, etc. are also good. Beginners find the watercolor pencils easy to use.
- A board to attach WC paper, or WC paper block or pad work well. Quarter or half sheets are good for size.
- Brushes and a small water bottle with a small watercolor palette and colors.
- A lightweight folding easel is good and a folding stool or chair.
- A camera helps to isolate your center of interest and help plan your composition. Also, you can’t paint everything in one morning so taking a few pictures helps you to decide the best view.
Kim Shield’s Plein Air Video
Kim Shields also has a great video on YouTube. Click to view!
PLEIN AIR PAINTING – WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
Press Release by Norm Freyer – January 2017
I am sure that, at some time or other, you have seen an artist busy painting on an easel outside at some location. And you were probably unaware that the artist was doing what is called plein air painting. Wikipedia states, “En plein air is a French term that translates literally as the open air.”
The term “plein-air painting,” as it is currently used, usually refers to paintings that are completed on location. Once considered revolutionary when French Impressionists like Monet and Pissarro first began painting outdoors, today working on location is routine for many landscape artists. Plein-air painters often contend that something is lost when a painting originates from a photograph as the sole reference material—that it just doesn’t convey the experience of being there.
At the January 13 (2017) meeting of the Citrus Watercolor Society we were fortunate to have one of our long-term members, Dunnellon artist Joyce Cusick, as our demonstrator on the subject of Plein Air Painting. She attended the Rhode Island School of Design, and after graduating, she was employed in a staff artist position with The Paramount Line greeting card company in Pawtucket, R.I. Upon moving to Florida, she and her husband Gene raised three children, she freelanced Illustration and Design, and studied and went to college. She graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting. She taught drawing and painting at Loch Haven Art Center, Orlando and in Hollywood, Florida. Today, she and her husband have been Marion County residents for 38 years. Joyce says, “I have always enjoyed being outside in undeveloped natural and woodland areas, along rivers and at the seashore. Pencils and sketchbook went with me everywhere so I could draw and capture the wonders that I saw.” She continues, “My favorite subjects are trees, especially the mighty cypress trees that grow along the Rainbow and Withlacoochee Rivers. People, coastal birds and wild animals are also favorites, especially Florida Panthers, whenever they appear I quickly paint them into the picture. The State Parks including Rainbow Springs, North of Dunnellon and the Florida Wildlife Park in Homosassa are also favorite places to paint. Anything that moves or catches the light, including people and portraits are within my chosen subjects”. Joyce is a member of the Citrus Watercolor Society, the Florida Watercolor Society, the Ocala Art Group, Ocala Plain Air Painters and the Florida Plain Air Painters. She has continued her education attending workshops with noted artists, Nita Leland, David Becker, Janet Rogers, Peter Spatero, Judi Wagner, Pat Weaver, Jean Grastorf, Steve Rogers and others. To view Joyce’s work, go to her web site at www.JECusickartist.com