10th Annual Plein Air Convention and Expo in Denver

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If you're like me, you've probably had enough of the snow and cold, and your thoughts are turning toward spring—and to the annual Plein Air Convention & Expo.  PACE 23 will be in Denver and runs from May 21-25.  As with last year, I'll be on the faculty, but rather than giving a formal demonstration, I've been invited back as a "field painter."

What's a field painter?  It's a faculty member who participates in all the paint-outs and serves as an on-site teacher.  Believe me, this is not a demotion!  Besides getting to paint at some truly beautiful locations, I'll have the opportunity to meet you—you are going, aren't you?—as I rove from easel to easel, offering help and tips to painters who need it.  This is something I enjoy doing in my own workshops.  So, if you're out painting and a bearded guy eases up to you and starts offering suggestions, don't be annoyed, as it might just be me.

Rumor has it, we'll be painting at places like Estes Park and possibly in Colorado Springs.  Both have great scenery, and I'll be excited to hear where we'll be going once the locations are finalized.

By the way, you'll have other opportunities to meet me.  Judson's Art Outfitters, maker of the famous Guerrilla Painter line of pochade boxes, has invited me to demonstrate at its booth in the vendor area.  I'll be painting with some of the new boxes, and I'll be happy to talk to you.  I've been using these boxes for over 20 years now, and they are a real workhorse, well-crafted and durable.  I'll also be using these on the paint-outs, so you can see them in action there, too.  What's more, I plan to have copies of my new book, Beautiful Landscape Painting Outdoors: Mastering Plein Air, with me to autograph and sell.  

If you haven't signed up for PACE 23 yet, here's a link:  www.pleinairconvention.com  I hope to see you there!

The Plein Air Convention and Expo 2022 – Part 2

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Albert Handell on the Main Stage

Despite my quiet hotel room, I woke early on Thursday—3:30—which is not terribly unusual for me.  I made coffee with the one-cup coffee maker I'd brought with me (far better than the stuff the resort supplied) and continued reading a biography of Robert the Bruce, one of my ancestors.  I think it's good to temper all the art input from the convention with something completely unrelated to avoid burnout.

Morning on the Golf Course

Once dawn arrived, I went out for a walk, hoping to find something other than pavement.  Fortunately, the resort has an 18-hole golf course, and despite the signs saying “No Trespassing—Golfers Only,” I walked a couple of miles, climbing to a rocky hill top where I had views of the waning moon sinking down above the Jemez Mountains.  It was good to work off some energy, as I've always been a bit restless sitting in hotel ballrooms at conferences.

Thomas Jefferson Kitts

Haidee Jo Summers

My first meeting was a presentation on the main stage by Thomas Jefferson Kitts.  His topic was on solvent-free oil painting.  Although I know most of the tech behind the practice, I learned that the safflower and flax ( linseed) oils one finds in the supermarket contain vitamin D.  Because vitamin D is an anti-oxidant, it will keep these drying oils from oxidizing and curing, so it's best to use artist's grade oils, which are free of it.  Following this, there was a talk by noted art historian Jean Stern on the historic women of plein air painting. I then took some time to peruse the wares in the vendor room and ran into Anita Louise West, who remembered me from times past.  It was good to reconnect with her, and hopefully, we'll get together to paint either in my neck of the woods or hers.

I returned to my room for an early lunch, and then attended a demo by Haidee Jo Summers.  Her topic, “Capturing the Essence,” explored the idea of simplifying a scene and cutting it down to one's basic idea.  Lori McNee then gave a presentation on Cobra water-miscible oils and Multimedia Artboard.  The Cobra rep was on hand to clarify some of the technical details, and since I've been very tentative in my use of the Cobra product, I gained some confidence.  Finally, it was off to see Dawn Whitelaw's talk on finishing paintings.  She took some of hers and showed us the steps she takes in evaluating them and adding the final brush strokes.

On the Plaza

By late afternoon, it was time to drive off to the Santa Fe's historic Plaza, which was our outing for the day.  I didn't pay for a bus ticket—since I had my own car, I just drove to a spot near the Plaza where I was sure I could get parking—and saddled up my gear and headed over.  I was a good 30 minutes in advance of the bus, so I was surprised to see the Plaza already teeming with painters.  The wind was starting to gust, but most of the Plaza seemed to be sheltered by the buildings that line the square.  And even better, the cottonwood trees gave plenty of shade, something much desired when painting in New Mexico.

At the paintout, I had a choice: paint or advise.  Early on in the year, when faculty was being invited, we'd been sorted into two bins, demonstrators and field painters.  I'd been assigned to the demonstrators, but this group was also given the option of functioning as field painters.  Field painters were supposed to wander around the attendees and offer sage advice.  I decided I'd do both.  So, first I set up my pastel box and did a quick sketch of a street scene; then, because the sketch might blow away in the wind, I packed everything up, donned my fluorescent, lime-green “Faculty” cap and began dispensing encouraging words and helpful suggestions.

An Encounter with PleinAir Magazine editor
Kelly Kane (left) and PleinAir Today editor
Cheri Haas (right)

Offerings were more limited on Friday, as the convention was winding down, with the big finish to be on Saturday with an all-day paintout at Ghost Ranch.  (Ghost Ranch, of course, was made famous by Georgia O'Keeffe, and now it's a retreat facility.)  Friday had the usual simultaneous events in the morning, but for the afternoon, everything took place on the main stage.

Tony Allain

First, in the morning, I attended Tony Allain's pastel demonstration.  I'd not met Tony in person before, but he's one of the master artists in my book.  It was a pleasure to finally meet this artist from Scotland and to see how quick he is to lay down the pastel.  He joked that he is so aggressive with the medium that the first two rows of the audience would probably be covered in pastel juice by the end.  Next, Albert Handell demonstrated painting a waterfall in oil on the main stage.  Although I've seen many different variations of his demos over the years, every time it's a treat to see him do it again.

Next, Eric took the stage to reveal the venue for next year's convention: Denver, with painting trips to Estes Park and City of the Gods.  There was a lot of excitement over the announcement, especially when Eric noted that it would be the convention's tenth birthday bash with a record number of attendees and faculty.  (He's planning on 1000 participants and 80 faculty.)

The final demonstration for the convention was Kevin Macpherson, but unfortunately, the schedule was running an hour late and seemed to be slipping even later.  I'd planned to go home after watching his demo and then stopping just briefly at the afternoon paintout at El Rancho de las Golondrinas; I needed to hurry home to pack for another trip--to get to my father's memorial service.  

Even so, Friday was a satisfying end to the convention for me.  I enjoyed seeing some old friends, learning a few new things, and absorbing the wonderful energy that his kind of event creates.  Will I be at Denver in 2023?  I hope so!

The Plein Air Convention and Expo 2022 – Part 1

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PACE Opens!  How many people can you count?
There's a whole left side that's not in the photo.

After being cancelled two years in a row because of the pandemic, the Plein Air Convention & Expo (PACE) finally opened in Santa Fe—but with wildfires raging on both sides of it.  Thirty miles east, New Mexico's second largest fire in history had charred over 300,000 acres by opening day.  And thirty miles west, a smaller fire of 50,000 acres was breathing its last.  The convention organizers recommended N95 masks for anyone worried about smoke.

The N95 masks, of course, would also be helpful because the pandemic still hadn't quite gone away.  I'd been uneasy about attending a convention with hundreds of people—partly because, right after it, I was due to travel several more days and visit with elderly family members on my long journey to Campobello Island.  But fortified with my second booster, and vowing to wear my N95 when indoors and to avoid parties, my hope was that I would escape unscathed.  (I won't mention that I snuck a small microwave oven into my room so I wouldn't have to dine out.)

As I approached the Buffalo Thunder Casino and Resort, about 20 minutes north of Santa Fe and on the Pueblo of Pojoaque reservation, I could see the smoke from the Calf Creek/Hermit's Peak fire billowing over the mountains.  The cloud, not quite a mushroom cloud, tilted to the east as the prevailing winds blew it away from Pojoaque.  The forecast for the rest of the week was sunny and unseasonably warm—in the high 80s—and with gusty winds expected later.

Dawn comes to Pojoaque

I discovered that the hotel was, thank goodness, isolated from the convention area and the casino.  As a light sleeper, it's important to have quiet.  Once checked in, I was surprised at how empty the place seemed.  Despite hundreds of people attending, the halls were largely void of traffic save for the occasional attendee frowning at the hotel map on his phone, trying to find the location of his room.  (Complicating things is the fact that there are two wings, and if you go up the wrong set of elevators, you may not find your room.  This happened to me while pushing a hundred pounds of gear on a bellman cart.)

I wasn't even sure if the casino was operating, as its parking lot, which is separate from the hotel's, was empty. The only place I encountered crowds was in the vendor area—a very dense gathering—and in the main stage area.  I found the best time to visit the vendors was during a presentation, when attendees were in the main stage room.  In the main stage area itself, I was able to hover in the back where things were more open.  (From anywhere in the room you could get a good view, thanks to the two large projection screens, which provided a close-up if not color-corrected view of the easel.)  Even so, I kept my N95 firmly attached.

After checking in, I immediately went to the main stage for the opening reception.  Eric Rhoads, the publisher of PleinAir magazine and organizer of PACE, appeared wearing a game-show host wig and a coat glittering with green sequins.  “Plein Air Wars” opened the evening, with four painters on stage performing under extreme conditions.  (Imagine being told to paint only with your non-dominant hand.)  Following that...more games, but finally it got down to Lifetime Achievement awards and the introduction of faculty.  I was pleased to see that my friend, Joe Anna Arnett, finally was able to take in hand her Lifetime Achievement award, which she was able to receive only virtually in 2021.

Brenda Boylan

The next day, my first event for the convention was a pastel demonstration by Brenda Boylan.  (There was a 6:30 am “Marketing Boot Camp” session I chose to skip, feeling a need to take my morning constitutional instead; I enjoyed a beautiful sunrise.)  Brenda showed us how to paint a city scene and discussed how to handle the issues one might encounter in that busy environment.  Next, I headed back to the main stage, where Eric was doing a live, streamed interview with master painter David Leffel and Sherrie McGraw.  Leffel is a Grand Master of painting, and he talked about some of the higher-level aspects of the art.  After that, I headed over to watch a watercolor demo on painting ocean waves by another friend and fellow Plein Air Fundy member, Poppy Balser.  I found it amazing that she was able to “save” the white areas for sea foam while painting a wave so loosely. She used no opaque white.  

Poppy Balser

Albert Handell

I ended the daylight portion of the day by watching a pastel demonstration of a tree by another good friend, Albert Handell, who has a fascinating approach in which he treats the tree more as a figure to be painted, and a talk on the optical physics of sunsets by Carl Bretzke.  This is a highly complex subject, and this MD-turned-painter did a great job of giving a clear presentation.  Somewhere in the course of the day, I ran into another friend, Kevin Macpherson—I am finding I have so many in the plein air world—and Eric, each of whom I showed my appreciation to by giving a copy of my new book.

Although the afternoon outing was scheduled for the historic village of Chimayo and its iconic Santuario, I needed to skip it.  I had a pastel presentation I was due to give at 8 p.m. and wanted to use the time to set up my gear, re-read my notes and make sure I had everything ready to go.  I also had been up since 3 a.m. and thought I might try to take a nap.  I'm not a napper, so this was a challenge.

Somewhat rested and fortified by a cup of strong Earl Grey tea, I made it through my presentation. At first, I was a little worried when the clock struck eight and every chair was still empty.  But PleinAir magazine editor Kelly Kane, someone I as a writer have known for years but had never actually met, and who was going to introduce me, said the bus from Chimayo was running late. (PACE hired one to ferry painters from the convention to painting sites.) Sure enough, people soon began filing in.  I had a good crowd, and I enjoyed sharing my topic: Outdoor Study to Studio.  I demonstrated how I use field references—color studies, pencil sketches and photos—for making studio paintings.  It's a hard sell to dedicated plein air painters, but I think they got the point, which is that the studio is not something to avoid.

(Coming Up—Part 2)