Plein Air Events - FAR From Home

Display One

Lessons Learned

I just finished my second plein air event that was far from home, too far for me to drive (1,400 miles). I wanted to share the lessons that I learned in traveling/flying so far for a plein air event.

Logistics and Shipping:

• Organization was critical, there was a lot to do even before I left the house. I had to ship (Fedex) the finished framed works that I wanted to display and sell (in this event I had TWO large 7ft x 3ft panels for work). 
• I also shipped canvases and paint to my sister's house. 
• I weighed all of my art supplies and knew they would fit in my luggage - pochode, tripod and umbrella. 
• I printed all event information and put it in folders in my backpack! I needed to be aware of the schedule!

Shipping Art:

• A fellow artist and plein air pro did not have a lot of work for display. What she did do was frame and display the wet works she had created during the event. I thought that was smart as I had many works that I had to bring back home. Next time, I will ship less art and will live with having less art on the walls, I shipped too much!
• Some paintings that I shipped (well packed) were in gold frames, and several frames had chipped in shipping meaning that I could not use them!



Display Two

• I will not buy gold frames (plastic ones) from a certain company again. They chip and they are difficult to wire for hanging (putting screws into the plastic molding)--- this was tough as I had to wire a lot of wet paintings in the course of a week. 

Larger Canvas for Quick Draw:

• We started painting on Monday and the last day of the event was Saturday, The Quick Draw. For the Quick Draw, we had a mere 80 minutes! I was so impressed with the works produced, wow the talent here was amazing. 
• Save a larger canvas and frame for this event. I had only a 5x7 left as I had used my 8x10 frames (to replace those that had chipped) earlier in the week when I hung my works. 

Mental Strength: Prepare Yourself for No Sales:

• I loved that all 40 artists had two 7x3 foot panels. That was a lot of generous space! I stood near my art corner and talked to all visitors for hours, without any sales. I knew that salses might not happen, but I struggled with the mental aspect of having no sales, it was tough. Try to prepare yourself to accept not having sales. 

Limited Palette:

5x7 Aglow, nocturne

• My limited palette (weighs 3 pounds, all my tube paints). I took my standard palette and it worked beautifully: Titanium White, Lemon Yellow, Cad Yellow Medium, Permanent Red, Alizarin Crimson, Permanent Rose, Ultramarine Blue, Cerulian Blue, Pthalo Green and Ivory Black. The only additional color that I took and used was Cobalt blue because I knew I was going to be painting bluebonnets!

Small Works:

• I painted 5x7s, 8x10s, 9x12 and 11x14. I painted about 3 works each day (starting with a 5x7 study). My favorite paintings were the 8x10s. My 11x14 painting did not turn out. I have now accepted that I love smaller works and have more fun with those. More 8x10 canvases and frames next time!
• My successes: Personally my most successful paintings were the 8x10s--- I painted a tractor and bike which I thought were good. And, I had a sweet little 5x7 nocturne which I also received complements on--it was one of my best in the show. 

Biggest Lesson Learned:

• Drive if you can, your car can be your mobile studio (and then you can take more canvases and frames).

It Just Makes Sense:

Go to the Artist centered events! Stay as long as you can at the Artist Reception, meet new artists, talk to them! I met many new faces --both hosts and artists at the Artist Reception. It was wonderful to talk to and meet new people--we are all artists, all participating in events together. I met some lovely people with whom I hope to maintain friendships.

Paint The Town, Marble Falls TX

Juried Plein Air Competition Show & Sale

My plein air set up from last summer

I am so thrilled to have been juried into this art event in
Texas April 1st-6th!

Please come out to see me and my 40 new artist friends as we Paint the Town in Marble Falls next week!

Here is my schedule for the TX paint out next week! Come out, enjoy the art, buy a painting! The Art gallery opens Thursday April 4th and will feature 40 artists works for the week! I know the works produced will be AMAZING! I cannot wait to see these wet paint works!

Marble Falls Paint The Town Schedule:

• Sunday March 31 - Canvas Stamp and Artist Check In!
• Monday April 1 - I have to find a place to paint! (You may see me driving around in circles on Sunday searching for a painting location).
• Tuesday April 2 - Artists Paint at SpiceWood Vineyards
• Wednesday April 3 -I have to find a place to paint! In the PM I will hang my art in the gallery!
• Thursday April 4 - Gallery Open 11 AM - 5 PM
• Friday April 5 - Gallery Open 11 AM - 5 PM
  VIP Reception & Awards 530-9 PM* 
• Saturday April 6 - 10 AM QuickDraw and Paint the Town Family Day 10 AM- 5 PM

Currently I am planning and prepping as I will be in Texas this weekend! There is much to do and it is difficult to plan from 1400 miles away. Painted and framed art for the gallery has been shipped. Canvas and paints have been shipped. My tripod and pochode and umbrella are being packed in a suitcase. I am doing laundry and planning outfits for daily paint outs.  Distance logistics abound and there is much to do and think about!

Hello TX, Hello Sunshine!

*Tickets may be purchased online

The Trauma of New Business Cards

The  front of my business card.

Trauma or Drama?

To set the scene, I  have two big art events coming up - one a plein air paint out and one an art conference. At both I will be meeting new and interesting people; therefore, I concluded that I  should order some new business cards. Sounds simple! There is a business card website that I have used before, and it is inexpensive at $10 for 100 business cards. Also, I have images of all of my recent works --- this should be a snap.

Well..I created no less than 10 versions of a draft business card online... it was a struggle. I did not envision spending this much time creating the card. First, I had to chose potential images that I wanted to use on the card, no problem. Next I reviewed all of  my art friends business cards. I really liked a vertical card with one image on the front and the artist info on the back. Simple, nice and great visual impact. I can create something like that right?

I had no issues uploading my art images; however, on the website I could not crop the images or adjust them the way that I wanted to. I could not fit the images to the edges and I could not figure out how to make the overall business card image larger to review/proof the edges. I had to go back and edit the images in PowerPoint. Then there were several attempts at putting the images in a different order.  I persisted and I got frustrated. After what felt like 2 days, I gave up on the vertical business card.

I did not anticipate this much business card drama! I did not anticipate spending this much time on a new business card! I realize that I am tough on myself and the process but I have a vision! Yes #sopicky!

Finally, exhausted, I had to relent and put an image on a horizontal business card. One image on the front of the card-- a lovely landscape. And, I like it! Which leads to the next problem, designing the back of the business card.  The information I want to put on the back includes- name, website, email. What colors should I use and should I add additional images? This takes awhile too! Eventually, I figure out the font and the colors and the images for the back of the card. I print numerous proofs to ensure that everything looks correct and legible.

Finally, the new cards are ordered. Fingers crossed there is no more drama!

Longing for Sunny Days

This morning I realized that I have not plein air painted in months. Today, like much of this winter, is grey and colder than normal (feels like 5 degrees).

Summer Sun 8x10

Sadly, I don't remember the last time that I painted en plein air. November was abnormally cold here and the chill still remains, 4 months of below average weather plus snow and wind... Brr. I miss sunshine and warmth and painting from life.

Last night I worked on a painting from a photo reference that I took last summer. I had painted a similar scene from life last summer; however, it was not a successful painting back then. Last summer I had tried to mass in the sunflowers but somehow I struggled and the result did not work.

 Yesterday I approached this painting more thoughtfully from a different view and with more intentional design. Now, this is a more successful painting to me. I created a high horizon and I like how the lines of the grass and field of sunflowers leads up and over to the horizon. Also, I am pleased with my tree background greens. Plus the barn was more grey but I made it more purple-ish to complement all of the yellow. Cerulean blue near and around the yellow sunflowers was helpful to keep the color bright, and later I went back in and added some complementary purples. I really like how this painting turned out, as is.

I can get caught up in details, and that would be a problem if I tried to paint each and every sunflower, there were a million sunflowers.  First I established the "lines" of fields to the horizon using cerulean and bright greens. Then I massed in the yellows starting with cad yellow up front and ending with radiant lemon towards the top.  Then I went back in over the yellows with brownish red and orange to define the flowers further. For the house, I made it a purple grey as I know purple would complement the yellow wonderfully. And, I paid careful attention to the light on the green trees in the background. Plus, the sky was very very light, I feel that I got that right.

This painting makes me long for sunshine and summer warmth, like the day that I sat and painted this from life, like the day that I took the reference photo for this work. Ah memories!

Inside Winter Painting Time

When it Snows... paint in the studio

It is cold and snowy outside and I am inside painting. The sun is not shining and I am dressed in layers to stay warm. I run outside only to take the dogs out, dressed in layers and layers for warmth! Brr! My February goal is to paint more landscapes. Up North where I live this means painting from my reference photos. Painting from photos is way less fun than painting 'en plein air.'

I have hundreds of reference photos and yet I still have a hard time choosing which one to paint. I can get stuck in an endless loop, scrolling through photos looking for inspiration. Some photos I have painted before, some are intimidating or do not have good light. Am I too picky?

Perhaps I should rely less on the photo and more on making up my own colors and designs. I went to a workshop once and the instructor used a poor photo as her reference pic. She made a beautiful painting but I could not understand how she chose the pretty colors for her painting as they were not in the photograph. Her reference photo was one that I would have deleted, it was lots of greens and not much design, how did she make it work? I have a lot to learn, and much to figure out. How can I  take a sad reference photo and make it a great painting? I have a long way to go in this regard.

I have learned that painting the same subject over and over yields better results! Right now I am working on a painting that I have painted twice on location –two different days two different paintings. Those paintings are my references now, and I am thinking of them as I start anew. This is my third iteration of this painting, and this one, this  one has potential…. 

I am very pleased with the final results (pictured), I hope to enter this into a show, wish me luck!

Portraits Plus a February Show

Postcard for our February Show

My art group was asked to have a February Exhibit locally at Livonia City Hall. Of course, we said yes, let's do this. I know it will be a lovely show as my art friends are amazingly talented award winning artists.


If you are in the area, the show will be open during business hours at Livonia City Hall. We will be hanging the show February 1 and taking it down February 27. Please stop by and do let us know what you think of the show.


This show is unique for us in that we typically only show our portraits, as we are a portrait painting group. In this show, we will also showcase our landscapes. I have  two portraits and two landscape paintings in the show which is exciting. I am especially excited about my Red and Green painting, a sweet little barn and tractor painting, 8x10. I just framed it last night, it looks so good! I should mention that all works will be for sale!

A close up of my red barn & green tractor painting, painted 'en plein air' at the farm. Enjoy the show!

Fast Forward into ART BUSY!

Welcome to the Post-Holiday DASH!

At My Window, 11x14

There is a lull in art activities around the holiday, and now in January activity starts to pick up again and we all are feeling overwhelmed with the artbusy. Suddenly there are multiple shows, in town and online. Do I have enough work? Do I have enough finished work? Am I ready? What are the deadlines for show entry, dates of drop off, dates of show? 

Planning and organization are important facets of being an artist. Honestly, I am unsure of how some artists get by, they never remember deadlines or drop off dates—these need to be on your calendar and set up as reminders. You should track your art and where it has been displayed too. I keep seeing the same art over and over in local shows when I know the artist is working and creating new artwork. Please put some of that new art in the show, your followers and I have seen the old stuff before.

So today I am planning to mark my calendar with upcoming show deadlines. I still have a printed calendar, being visual it helps me to write on it, retain it, and see it daily. I may also add deadlines to an online calendar or my phone (reminders). Not only do I need to think about art deadlines, I also start thinking about which artworks will go into the shows, much planning needs to be done. It helps to know the shows too!

There are two favorite local art shows that I love. One is a member show, and there I always put in a portrait as the show heavily features landscapes and I want to stand out. The other is a figure show, and that is competitive and well respected—that I try to get into with figurative work if I can –that particular show is juried. Ok, so there are those two shows in February and March. Then there is a juried show in March for my Detroit Society of Women Painters. And my art group has a show the month of February. And another local art association has a show in March. Plus my online national art group is calling for entries into their Summer show, and I very much want to apply to that. Well, it is all stacking up as you can tell! WOW! Hello ‘Feb March Art Extravaganza’, can you hear that frantic fast music as I search my studio for works to put into all these shows? Oh my, yes, this will take some planning and strategy.

Dashing through the studio I go!