Prairie Plein Air

Gosh I had a great weekend.




I was lucky enough to spend two days with some terrific people at a plein air painting workshop hosted by Graham Gallery, held at Prairie Loft Center, and led by instructor extraordinaire Amy Maclennan.


















It was a terrific time. The weather cooperated perfectly, and the staff and crew at Prairie Loft took very good care of us, as did the always patient and attentive Angela Graham herself.



Painting en plein air is a special challenge. Not only does the artist deal with all the usual artist type stuff, but must also figure in the moving sun, a variety of bugs and other flying things, the lack of a close kitchen and bathroom, an overwhelm of intense and saturated color, heat, wind, and spectators.

The breeze kept the heat bearable, Amy shared her knowledge of color theory in a clear and concise way, and the Prairie Loft folks were helpful with facilities. As for the sun, well, it is the center of the universe. Workshop participants enjoyed sharing their expertise and I got some new friends out of the deal. Even the folks passing by were fun.


The weekend culminated in an auction of artwork donated by workshop participants as well as area artists, the proceeds of which will go to supporting the growth of Prairie Loft and its programming. My workshop piece was purchased for a very generous price, and I'm really pleased and honored.
Thanks to Angela, Amy and the Prairie Loft folks for an excellent event; thanks to Kathy for her purchase; thanks to Jerry for breakfast; and thanks to Todd for reminding me to have fun.
Gosh, it was a great weekend.
What made your weekend great?

The Art of Giving

I had the priviledge this past weekend to hang out with some very cool people. Dustin Van Wechel was in Hastings Nebraska at Graham Gallery to share his oil painting expertise. Angela, owner of the gallery, puts on a great workshop. It's more like a play date with friends than anything else.

(Here Dustin is helping Jean with her still life.)

The class culminated in a plein aire event at Praire Loft, an environmental educational conference center located west of Hastings. Paintings created during the day were auctioned off to raise funds for refurbishing Prairie Loft buildings.

Most workshop instructors offer their demo pieces for sale. I've known a few who get downright mercenary about it. Dustin wraps up his workshops by drawing names out of a hat. Those whose names are drawn are the proud owners of his demo paintings. Is that cool? And I'm tickled to tell you that I'm now the proud owner of a real live Dustin Van Wechel 8 x 10 oil painting. Hot Diggity!

Now that I think of it, the entire weekend was about giving. Artists gathered to share with each other in a lovely open supportive atmosphere. Paintings were offered for auction without any expectation of compensation. It was wonderful.

I've given 3 paintings to worthy causes this year. Didn't make a dime. Can't even use it as a tax write off. But y'know what? It feels good. It's an easy way to help build bigger things than me. Dustin gives his demo paintings. Angela gives support and friendship to her artists. What do you give?