2014 Southeastern Plein Air Invitational: New Format

Instead of a weeklong painting event for 15 advanced plein air artists, the 2014 week has two parts:

·        A Roger Dale Brown workshop for intermediate and advanced painters--Sunday, April 6 for orientation, and Monday-Wednesday, April 7-9, for painting on location.

·        An invitational for 15 artists painting on locations around Gadsden, Alabama—Wednesday, April 9, 6-8 p.m. for orientation; painting sessions Thursday-Sunday, April 10-13.

Students have the option of exhibiting one painting created during the workshop at the Southeastern Plein Air Invitational (SPAI) show and sale.  The SPAI artists will be creating two or more paintings each day and will have the option of participating in Dueling Brushes, a 2-hour paint-out. 

The public is invited to view the show beginning with the opening reception, Sunday, April 13, 2-4 p.m.  Awards will be presented for “Best in Show” and “The People’s Choice” along with awards for winners in the Dueling Brushes competition.  The SPAI show and sale will be on exhibit at the Gadsden Museum of Art, April 13-May 2.  

About the workshop: Roger Dale Brown’s paintings have won first place and best of show awards, been juried into national exhibitions, published in Artist Magazine and American Art Collector, displayed in galleries throughout the United States, and collected by celebrities and corporations. He is dedicated to painting from life, on location, as the best way to enhance the ability to see the nuances of a scene. His goal is to capture the emotion what he sees and distill that into his paintings. Roger Dale Brown believes in passing along what he has learned through teaching. To learn more, visit Roger Dale Brown's website at www.rogerdalebrown.com

Workshop tuition: $425 (supplies not included).  A 50% deposit is required to reserve a space, $100 of which is not refundable.  Don’t delay, Mr. Brown’s classes fill quickly and space is strictly limited!  

To register for the workshop or request more information about the workshop or the SPAI, contact Elaine at the Gadsden Museum of Art (256-546-7365 or ecampbell@cityofgadsden.com).   

Nationally Known Artists Coming to Gadsden

Artists will converge on Gadsden beginning April 9-13 for the fourth Southeastern Plein Air Invitational hosted by the Gadsden Museum of Art (GMA). With gallery shows, Web sites, award winning paintings, and eager collectors, these professionals could paint anywhere but choose to come to Gadsden for its scenic beauty and friendly, informal atmosphere.

V….Vaughn (her signature is as original as her artwork) toured the U.S. with her one-woman show of 365 plein air paintings recording the last days of her family’s farm in Texas, a show that ended its run at GMA. She has painted in Gadsden several times and conducted workshops for local artists. Several of her paintings are in the permanent collection of GMA and in private collections here.

Dot Courson of Pontotac, Mississippi, is making her third trip to Gadsden. At last year’s event she won the top award in the Quick Draw Competition, a special feature of the Southeastern Plein Air Invitational where artists must complete a painting in only two hours. In March, 2012, Courson had a solo exhibit at a gallery in Tupelo. As a member of Women Painters of the Southeast her work will be on exhibit at a gallery in Jacksonville, lorida, beginning April 27. Millie Gosch of Roswell, Georgia, who was also juried into the Women Painters of the Southeast, will be returning for her second painting trip to Gadsden.

Two artists will be adding an international flavor-- Dmitriy Proshkin, originally from Russia but now living near Chattanooga, and Ron Bayens, originally from Canada but now living in Auburn. Proshkin has painted in Gadsden many times and his works are in the permanent collection of the GMA and private collections here. Bayens painted in Gadsden at the 2009 event and turned a rainy day downtown into a painting that is now part of the permanent collection of the GMA.

John Guernsey, originally from southern California but now living in Marietta, Georgia, is a favorite of local art collectors. His painting of Noccalula Falls was acquired for the permanent collection of the GMA and fellow artists have voted his work ‘best in show’ for the last two years. Another painter making a splash with a painting of Noccalula Falls, Katrina Weber of Huntsville, will be returning this year. Her close-up view of water rushing over the falls shows how an artist can take scene familiar to thousands and turn it into original
art.

Craig Reynolds of Rainbow City and Gina Brown of Glencoe demonstrate that artistic talent doesn’t have to be imported. Their understanding of the locales, scenery, and history of Gadsden add a special depth to their paintings. Both have paintings in the permanent
collection of GMA but their paintings don’t always stay local: Reynolds is represented by galleries in Charleston and New Orleans and Brown by galleries in Northport, AL and Charleston.

Jill Berry from Pensacola, Florida, made an impression on her first trip to Gadsden last year with her bright, colorful garden scenes and use of the palette knife to add a lively texture to her paintings. She is returning for her second year and will be joined by artists participating for the first time including:

Amy Peterson from Hoover, AL

Karen Weir from Catherine, AL

Amanda Carder from Cummin, GA

Charles Young Walls from Atlanta, GA

Wyatt Waters from Clinton, MS.

Come see Gadsden through the eyes of the 15 professional artists who will be painting in Gadsden April 9-13.

Join the artists on location or at the opening reception on Friday, April 13, 6-8 p.m. All works completed during the event will be on exhibit and awards winners will be announced. All paintings will be available for purchase at the reception and online. The exhibition will continue through May 14.

To find daily information on the Invitational:

Look for the Blue Umbrella on location--volunteers will be available to assist visitors.

Consult the GMA Web site and follow the event on this GMA daily blog.

Stop by GMA at 515 Broad Street, Gadsden.

For online sales go to gadsdenmuseum.com. Or, call GMA (236 546-7365).

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.

ARTIST PAINTING WITH A PURPOSE

Jan Polk paints with palette knives instead of the more usual bruhes. She traces the technique back to the original Impressionist, Claude Monet. While Jan has been studying art since the mid-1980s, she developed her current techniques at a 2003 workshop taught by Susan Sarback, founder of the School of Light and Color (lightandcolor.com). Sarback spent many years researchin the secret of painting the full spectrum of color as Monet did. Monet was self-taught and did not teach students but his contemporary, Charles Hawthorne, did. One of Hawthorne’s many students was Henry Hensche, an American Impressionist who became well-known as an art teacher. Sarback studied with him and now passes the techniques to her own students--like Jan Polk.

How is palette knife painting different? Each painting implement has its own character that determines in the way paint is applied and the final look of the painting. The flexible metal palette knives lend themselves to a thicker application of paint called impasto and an almost three-dimensional surface to the finished painting. By using the point or edge of the knife the artist can draw back into the paint revealing colors underneath.

While bold in execution, Jan’s paintings have a soft, soothing, mellow appearance that matches her philosophy. She sees a connection between painting and people’s behavior: “I want to use art to inspire all of us to be respectful to one another and to work together just as the paints must work together to achieve beautiful results.”

Jan’s art has led to affiliations with well-known organizations including the Cincinnati Art Club (Signature Status), Exhibiting Member of the Pleasure Island Art Association in Orange Beach, Alabama, and the Women’s Art Club of Cincinnati.

Jan has participated in the two previous plein air events in Gadsden and returns this year as one of 15 professionals invited to paint on location, April 25-29. Come watch Jan create landscapes using the palette knife technique and then view her paintings in the galleries at the Gadsden Museum of Art with a deeper understanding of how and why they were created.

ARTISTS' LOCATIONS, April 25-29

Artists and spectators at the Southeastern Plein Air Invitational will be treated to several new locations this year. Each location offers a completely different challenge to the artists but every site offers variety, drama, and beauty. Spectators may visit the locations between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily but the best time to see the artists working is before 11 a.m. and after 2 p.m. because plein air artists find midday light less interesting. For help on site, look for the Blue Umbrella where volunteers will be on hand to assist you.

LOCATIONS

Monday / April 25 COME TO THE CLUB

The Gadsden Country Club has kindly offered the use of the golf course on a day when the premises are usually closed. Only artists will have use of golf carts so spectators can expect to do some walking.

Directions: The Gadsden Country Club is located on U.S. 411/Rainbow Drive. The entrance is marked with brick columns and red roses (no traffic light). Proceed up the hill to the 2^nd parking area and look for the Blue Umbrella.

Tuesday / April 26 UP ON THE FARM

Stone Arches Farm in the Little Wills Valley community offers artists bucolic scenes much like those favored by the first Impressionists in France over 150 years ago--fields and meadows, flower gardens and fish ponds, blue hills and stately trees. Directions: The farm is located on U.S. 11 about 10 miles north of Attalla. Look for the Blue Umbrella.

Wednesday / April 27 THREE HISTORIC DOWNTOWNS

Artists have a choice of three downtown settings—Gadsden, Alabama City, and Attalla—each with its own flavor and character. Spectators are invited to visit each site, call the museum during the day for information on where artists are located, or come by the Blue Umbrella at the Gadsden Museum of Art. For spectators with limited mobility, this day offers the chance to see artists at work with little walking required.

Thursday / April 28 DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE

Artists will be painting on both sides of the Coosa in the area of the Southside Bridge—Rainbow Landing, Buck Island Road, and the causeway on Hwy 77. Look for the Blue Umbrella at Rainbow Landing.

Directions: Take Rainbow Drive (Hwy 411) to the intersection with Hwy 77. Turn left. Proceed past Regency Point on the right. Turn right just before the Southside Bridge. The entrance to Rainbow Landing will be on your left.

Friday / April 29 GADSDEN HISTORIC DISTRICTS (morning only)

Historic homes, tree-lined streets, and beautiful gardens make this residential neighborhood near downtown Gadsden an ideal location for plein air painting. Artists will have their choice of painting on Turrentine Avenue, Argyle Circle, Haralson Avenue, Reynolds Street, or Walnut Street. For spectators with limited mobility, this day offers the chance to see artists at work with little walking required since most will be visible from the street. The Blue Umbrella will be located at the corner of Walnut and Turrentine.

Friday night, Gadsden Museum of Art, 6-8 p.m.

· Wet Paint Silent Auction (2 specially chosen painting from each of the 15 artists)

· Artists’ Reception (refreshments will be served)

· Artist Recognition and Awarding of Prizes

The public is invited to view over 150 paintings created during the Southeastern Plein Air Invitational and to meet the artists.