Valerie Woelk sharing artist steps taken during creation
I had my first plein air paint out with Inland Northwest Outdoor Painting group members on Saturday. It was a beautiful morning, and as I sat on my rock perch I had shade from a nearby tree and a light breeze. Heavenly.
Many people and dogs enter the Coeur d’Alene Lake from here for a morning swim. It kind of made me wish I could jump in too, but…
Here is the end product, it was fun.
The 55th Art on the Green ( AoG) Festival was a pleasure to experience. We had the distinct pleasure of being right next to Jessica Bryant’s booth making it possible to get to know her over the weekend. She is an amazing watercolor artist doing landscapes that just blow you away. A fascinating individual with so many interesting stories about traveling and painting in her life. Jessica’s beautiful brainchild started two years ago, to help with the KEA fundraising and increasing public awareness.
The Plein Air show was sponsored by both “Art on the Green” (AoG) and the “Kootenai Environmental Alliance” (KEA) non-profit. They promote, “clean water efforts” in the Lake Coeur d’Alene water drainage basin area. The booth celebrated area artists who participate in the creation of art that is created outside while experiencing the beautiful surroundings around the lake.
We were located in the middle, close to the food booths and the stage. The entertainment included great music and phenomenal singers all day. The music inspired people to get up and dance, and even some toddlers got up to dance to the music. A great family fun day for everyone.
Even though the plein air painting contest requires that I spend a lot of time in the two weeks prior looking for views and painting outside. It is worth putting up with the “sun and bugs” because I love painting outside so much.
Each day Fanie Van (first place winner), and I did plein air painting demos, using fresh sunflowers from my garden. People were relaxed and easy to talk with and were eager to cast their votes on their favorites for “People’s Choice”. A lot of the paintings were sold and it was a successful show all around. This will remain an event that I look forward to being a part of next year.