Paint-Out In Wyeth Country.

Early this past Friday morning  I joined twenty-nine other landscape painters at the Chadds Ford Historical Society for the fourth annual two day "Plein-Air Paintout."

Before going out to paint each of our canvases or panels had to be stamped on the back, to make sure no one tried to slip in something they'd painted previously. This was not a "competition," but all works had to have been painted on-site during the two day event.

We'd been given a list of private farms, estates, and historical homes to which we had access to paint.
I chose a working farm with wonderful old barns and stone out-buildings, spread out over hillsides above the Bandywine Creek. I've been driving by this place for over thirty-five years.

Another artist and I arrived early, and were greeted by this yappy little doggie.

As it turned out, just one of many living on the farm.

Soon other artists arrived, outfitted for the chill morning air. This is Lee Boynton, a very talented artist.

And his subject and painting-in-progress.

By mid-day artists were everywhere.

Here's the painting I did on Friday, in oil.

And this one, about a hundred feet away, on Saturday.

By four p.m.on Saturday all of the still-wet paintings had to be in frames and ready to be hung.

For the evening's reception and show.

Painting on-site is not for every artist, but like my colleagues, I love the challenge of chasing the sun as it moves across the sky, the sound of geese high overhead, and trying to capture the variety of shapes and colors and edges and...well, the whole bit, on any given day, and in most kinds of weather.