A Plein Air Painter's Blog - Michael Chesley Johnson: Sedona Plein Air Festival

Friday, October 30, 2009

Sedona Plein Air Festival - Day 7

As I mentioned before, I spent yesterday adjusting my paintings and framing. "Adjusting" consists of putting the unframed painting up on the easel and looking at it for a bit. Sometimes nothing is needed; sometimes the painting would benefit from a few extra strokes. I may add darker accents, correct some highlights, smooth out a brush stroke or two - minor stuff. If I had to put a percentage on it, I'd say that at least 95% of the painting is done entirely in the field. I know of very few artists who never touch a painting once it comes indoors.

For the festival, I painted a total of 10 pieces, not including today's Quick Draw piece. Six of these made it into the show. The other four I deemed needing more work than I wanted to put into them. They've been stuck in a box awaiting future consideration - they'll either be adjusted or recycled. For the six that made the cut, I had to give them a number from one to six, with one being, in my mind, the best. (A very tough and somewhat arbitrary decision, once you've picked the six that deserve frames.) The staff will take my top three and put them in the Patron's Gala tonight; the other three will serve as backups as the top three sell.

I delivered the paintings to the Festival last night - what a relief! On your first day, you always wonder if you'll even paint three good ones, much less have ones good enough to serve as backups. I'm happy with the paintings I did this week. Now I'm getting ready for the Quick Draw event. The 30 artists will converge on L'Auberge de Sedona along Oak Creek this morning. A 10 a.m., a virtual gun will go off and the artists will start. We'll paint furiously until noon, and then we must frame and deliver the wet pieces to the ballroom by 1 pm. The public is, of course, invited to the Quick Draw.

The Patron's Gala starts tonight at 6. Tickets are $125 each. This is your chance to get first pick at the paintings, and to experience some really good food courtesy of L'Auberge de Sedona! Awards will be given out then, too. The Gala is at L'Auberge, down by Oak Creek. If you don't make the Gala, paintings that don't sell will be at the Public Sale, which runs Saturday (10-6) and Sunday (10-3). The Public Sale is at the Sedona Arts Center. I hope to see you at one place or the other!

Here are my six, framed, and then are closeups of each, from #1 to #6.