WindMark
Beach, Fla.
- The rural stretch of Florida known as “The Forgotten Coast,” will be
celebrating 10 years of documenting the natural resources, the culture and the
history through a process called plein air painting, or painting in the moment
in the open air, this coming May 1-11th, 2015.
Twenty-one invited
artists will travel from as far as Australia to participate in the
internationally recognized event.
Two artists have
participated in all 10 years of the event, Charles Dickinson of St. Augustine
and Mary Erickson of North Carolina. Together with returning Winter Park
artist, Larry Moore, the three will reflect on the event founder’s original
vision in a presentation titled, Remembering Richard’s Vision, in Presentation
Hall at 51 Good Morning Street in WindMark Village Center from 1-3pm on May
3rd.
Eight year event
veterans, Lori Putnam from Tennessee, Tracey Frugoli from Illinois, and James
Hempel from Wisconsin, will return as long time favorites. A master of color, Putnam will present a hands
on exercise, titled The Color Palette, at the Mexico Beach Welcome Center, 102
Canal Parkway, Mexico Beach, from 4-6 pm (Eastern) on May 7th. Known for their nocturne painting, Frugoli
and Hempel will showcase their night painting passions at the Full Moon Paint
outs. Frugoli will be in Apalachicola at Riverfront Park and Hempel at the Cape
San Blas Lighthouse in Port St. Joe, both from 8-10 pm on Monday, May 4th.
James Richards from Georgia
and Luke Buck from Indiana will be returning for their 7th year. Richards holds
the record as a four time Artists’ Choice Award winner which he will discuss on
Sunday morning May 10th in Presentation Hall. Buck will lead a discussion
titled Exploring Watercolor, at Rio Carrabelle, 102 St. James in Carrabelle
from 4-6 pm on May 5th.
Four artists are
returning for their sixth year, Greg Barnes from North Carolina, Ken DeWaard
from Wisconsin, Morgan Samuel Price from Altamonte Springs, and Hodges Soileau
from Venice. Barnes will demonstrate his pastel expertise at Lynn’s Quality
Oysters on Sunday May 3rd, beginning at 2pm, and for Art in the Afternoon
starting at noon in the courtyard at WindMark Village Center. DeWaard will team
with artist Greg LaRock for a Dueling Demos presentation at 9am in Riverfront
Park, Apalachicola. Price has served as the juror for the Florida’s Finest en
Plein Air exhibition and will present a Lunch and Learn series with Mary
Erickson titled, Documenting a Painting’s Pedigree, for the Plein Air Cafe, 51
Good Morning Street, WindMark Village Center, on May 7th from 1-2 pm. Soileau
has volunteered to juror the Quickdraw exhibition which will hang on the second
floor of the Apalachicola Center for History, Culture and Art beginning May
2nd.
Pastelist Nancie King
Mertz and oil painter Gene Costanza will both be participating for their fourth
year. Costanza was the winner of the first Artist Choice Award in 2008 and will
discuss how he transferred the discipline he learned in law enforcement to his
career as a plein air artist at a presentation at Salinas Park on May 4th,
beginning at 4pm. Mertz will showcase her pastel talents in demonstrations on
May 3rd at Plein Church, a blessing of the easels, at Riverfront Park, from
9-11 am and with Barnes at Lynn’s Quality Oysters at 2pm that afternoon.
The third year will “be
a charm” for artist Shelby Keefe from Wisconsin and Greg LaRock from
California. Keefe will present a Lunch and Learn session titled Art in Motion,
combining music, movement, and artistic expertise in one entertaining
presentation at the Plein Air Cafe in WindMark Village Center at 11 am on May
5th. LaRock will join DeWaard for the Dueling Demo on May 8th in Riverfront
Park, Apalachicola.
David Boyd Jr. from
Georgia and Leon Holmes from Australia will return for their second year
co-presenting Quickdraw Quandaries, a practical discussion balancing the
difficulties and the benefits of the two hour challenge, at the Apalachicola
Center for History, Culture and Art, on May 1st from 1-2 pm.
Three first time
Forgotten Coast artists have been invited for 2015, Michele Byrne from
Pennsylvania, Mark Fehlman from California, and Charlie Hunter from
Vermont. Byrne will present a Lunch and
Learn Session titled The Art of Conversation, Michele Byrne discussing the
benefits and the process of capturing figures in the plein air composition at
the Plein Air Cafe in Presentation Hall, WindMark Village Center, on May 8th at
12 noon. Fehlman will present Inspired Architecture, about architecture in the
plein air process at Shimmering Sands Realty, 123 East Gulf Beach Drive on St.
George Island from 4-6 pm. Hunter will demonstrate the process of encaustics
and plein air work at a Lunch and Learn presentation in the courtyard at
WindMark Village Center from 11-1pm on May 4th.
Dawn Whitelaw from
Tennessee and Hiu Lai Chong from Maryland are featured as Plein Air Portrait
artists for the anniversary celebration. Collectors can schedule to have a
custom plein air portrait completed by one of these accomplished figurative and
portrait painters. Their work can be seen in the Plein Air Marketplace.
Portrait sessions are reserved on the event website.
Six of Florida’s
outstanding plein air talents are recognized as the Florida’s Finest en Plein
Air Ambassadors: Natalia Andreeva from Tallahassee, Bill Farnsworth from
Venice, Katie Dobson Cundiff from Bradenton, Mary Garrish from Merritt Island,
Cynthia Edmonds from Winter Park, and Mitch Kolbe from Palm Harbor. Their work
is showcased in the Florida’s Finest en Plein Air exhibition at the
Apalachicola Center for History, Culture and Art. As a special feature of this
year’s event, first time painters can register online for a session at one of
the six Painting Stations scheduled throughout the 10 day event. For a modest
fee of $25, aspiring artists can spend two hours with a professional instructor
and compete their own plein air painting. All supplies are included thanks to
Blick/Utrecht Art Materials.
Traveling from Maine
for his fourth year to support the event, Donald Demers will serve as the
Master Artist for the Plein Air Academy. Demers, will lead a group of
professional artists in a mentorship initiative aimed to enhance the growth of
seasoned plein air artists. Demers will engage participants for three mornings
of mentorship, four afternoons of field painting, a customized individual
development strategy, and a private consultation.
Jean Stern,
accompanied by his wife Linda, will join the event from California where Stern
is the Executive Director of the Irvine Museum. A noted art historian and
expert on the plein air movement, Stern will be highlighted in five special
presentations. He will be featured at a book signing, Collecting the Plein Air
Landscape, where a special selection of Irvine Museum publications will be
available for purchase on Wednesday, May 6th at Shimmering Sands Realty
starting at 6:00 pm. On Thursday, May 7th, Stern will present a lecture
focusing on 100 years of plein air history in Presentation Hall in WindMark
Village starting at 7:30pm. Stern will moderate the Art as a Window artists’
roundtable discussion on May 8th at 2pm, also in Presentation Hall. On
Saturday, May 9th, Stern will be available in the Wetroom beginning at 11am to
discuss the qualities of the paintings produced during the week, and again at
the Collector’s Gala and Artists’ Choice award presentation.
Joshua Rose, editor
of American Art Collector magazine will travel from Arizona to be the honored
Judge for the Quickdraw Competition on Saturday morning, May 2 in Riverfront
Park. The judging will begin at noon and winners will be announced around 1 pm.
After the winners are announced, Rose will present The Savy Collector, a
discussion with advice and guidance on selecting work from upcoming new
artists. Later that evening, Rose will deliver the keynote address at the
Florida’s Finest en Plein Air and Quickdraw Opening Reception from 6-8pm at the
Apalachicola Center for History, Culture and Art.
Special guests will
include Krystal Allen from California representing Plein Air Magazine which is
generously sponsoring the Plein Air Marketplace and Violeta DeLa Serna from
Miami who is representing Fine Art Connoisseur, the featured sponsor of the
Collector’s Forum. DeLa Serna will present a lunch and Learn presentation
titled Building Your Art Collection With Your Heart and Your Head at the Plein Air Cafe’ in Presentation Hall
from 12-1 pm on May 7th.
Guest artist Molly
Schmid from Tallahassee will provide a demonstration titled Painting Alla Prima
on May 7th from 9-11 am in the courtyard at WindMark Village Center, as well as
a Lunch and Learn Session, Discovering the Inner Artist, on May 9th in the
Plein Air Cafe at 12 noon.
Fine art brushmaker,
Symi Jackson, will travel from Great Britain to represent Rosemary and
Company’s Fine Art Brushes. Jackson will open each day of the Marketplace with
a brush making and usage demonstration at 11am. Then she will be available in
the Marketplace for brush sales until 5 pm.
Plein air artist and
product manager Scott Gellatly will travel from Washington State to represent
Gamblin Artist Oils. Gellatly will be a guest artist at Student Art Day on St.
George Island where Gamblin has generously sponsored the youth painting event
by providing paint kits to each student. He will also provide painting
demonstrations at the Marketplace at 3pm on Monday, May 4th, Tuesday May 5th
and Friday May 8th,
Utrecht resident
artist and brand manager, Joseph Gyurcsak from New Jersey will be on hand
representing Blick/Utrecht Art Materials who has generously sponsored the
Painting Stations for 2015. Gyurcsak will hold painting demonstrations in the
courtyard at WindMark Village Center on Tuesday May 5th at 9am, on Thursday,
May 7th at 2 pm and on Saturday May 9th at 2pm.
Hosting these artists
and guest speakers is possible because of the communities’ gracious home hosts,
area businesses, and the generous support of the Duke Energy Foundation.
For complete details
on where you can find your favorite artist or guest presenter, visit www.greatpaintout.com or call 800-378-8419.
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