QUICK DRAW FOR ARTISTS

Covered bridge in Pioneer Village, Noccalula Falls Park, Gadsden.

Unlike the Old West where a quick draw demonstrated mastery of firearms, a Quick Draw at a plein air event showcases artistic skills—but both focus on speed, nerve, and daring. Imagine that you are an artist painting outdoors. Stand in one spot and slowly rotate 360-degrees, what will you choose to paint?

• Will it be a vista with deep space, or a single tree with bright foliage, or a close-up of a flower bed?
• What will be the focal point of your composition (the element that will capture the attention of the viewer)?
• How does light affect your choice—are you looking for deep shadows and bright highlights or a sunny aspect with only a few darks?

Get ready, get set, GO!

A Quick Draw is a contest where artists finish a painting in a single timed session of two hours. From first stoke to last, the artists must be in control, confident, and single-minded. The challenge is to focus on only part of the setting, mix hundreds of colors that reproduce and enhance what you see, and place each brushstroke just where it belongs. And do all of that with the clock ticking! Once the horn blows you must stop and submit the painting to the judges as is. The winner gets the satisfaction of showing off a rare set of skills and the possibility of winning a prize.

The Quick Draw at the Southeastern Paint Out takes place between 2 and 4 Thursday afternoon, October 13, in the Pioneer Village at Noccalula Falls Park. The public is invited see the Quick Draw in progress. The paintings will be on view at the Gadsden Museum beginning Friday morning. Winners will be announced and prize money awarded at the opening reception on Friday evening, October 14, 6-8. Come to the second floor galleries for refreshments and see the entire week’s paintings by fifteen Alabama artists.

ART COLLECTORS COME OUT FOR OPENING / PRIZE WINNERS FOR QUICK DRAW COMPETITION

Top: First prize winner in Quick Draw, Dot Courson for "Patriot"

Middle: Second prize winner in Quick Draw, Craig Reynolds for "The Stoop"

Bottom: Third prize winner in Quick Draw, Millie Gosch for "The Patriot"

On-location painting for the Southeastern Plein Air Invitational is over but the event continued Friday night with an opening reception and Silent Auction. Art collectors came out to enjoy music, refreshments, and to buy art—sales topped $7,000. With over 150 original paintings created in one week by 15 professional artists, many paintings remain in the galleries of the Gadsden Museum of Art and are for sale through June 3.

A highlight of Friday night’s reception was the awarding of prizes for the Quick Draw, a special competition where artists had only two hours to complete a painting. Dot Courson took first prize, Craig Reynolds second, and Millie Gosch third--all painting the same doorway! The cash prizes for the Quick Draw were graciously donated by Mrs. Ruth Reynolds, widow of well-known local artist Leo Reynolds.

Come by the Gadsden Museum of Art to view the paintings from the 2011 Southeastern Plein Air Invitational. The next plein air event will be in October and will be open to all painters, professional or amateur. Look for the information about the event on the museum’s Web site.

LAST PAINTING DAY/QUICK DRAW/OPENING RECEPTION

Flowers by Donna Chieves

Landscape painting by Dot Courson

Musical group painting by Robin Roberts

What a week! Artists have painted everyday—even under threat of tornados on Wednesday. By 9 p.m. Thursday, 124 new originals were hanging on the gallery walls at the Gadsden Museum of Art—everything from grand vistas to intimate flower studies, musical groups to garden ornaments, street scenes to charming cottages.

Today the artists paint in the residential historical districts—Turrentine Avenue; Haraldson, Reynolds, and Walnut Streets; and Argyle Circle. This morning they are painting houses and gardens in a leisurely fashion but this afternoon they will switch to “quick draw” mode. A Quick Draw means that the artists get set up on the view of their choice, a whistle blows and the artists have only two hours to complete a painting before the whistle blows again. Ruth Reynolds, the widow of the artist Leo Reynolds and the mother of Craig Reynolds, one of the professionals participating in the Southeastern Plein Air Invitational, has generously donated the prizes for the Quick Draw.

Best of Show and other awards will be presented this evening at a reception at the Gadsden Museum of Art, 6-8 p.m. The public is invited to see the paintings, participate in a Wet Paint Auction (silent auction) of the artists’ choice of their best work (two from each of the15 professionals), and meet the artists.