It’s been a week since I got home from the The First Annual Plein Air Convention and Expo and my painting trip at the Grand Canyon. I wanted to post something on this earlier, but I spent a few days catching up on work, shipping paintings, a commission, sifting through information, resting, and just trying to absorb some of the information. It seemed and still seems like a daunting task to put all that went on and what I learned into one post. Maybe I’ll tell you something different that you hadn’t heard about.

It was a whirlwind of activity during the event. I came away with a excitement, but a lack of sleep. I scheduled a painting trip to the Grand Canyon afterward, but it may have been wiser to head on home and get some sleep. When I did get home I needed a few days to unwind and sleep.

My friend, Debra Groesser, and I shared a room in Vegas. Each morning we got up early for Eric Rhoads’ (the publisher of Plein Air Magazine) Marketing Bootcamp. It was packed with information, although with a lack of time some of it was brief. The 3 part workshop was recorded and some parts will be expanded on and rerecorded. I’m anxious to get the video and go through it all again.

Ken Auster getting ready to paint.

The convention opened with Elvis performing. Hey, it’s Vegas, who else would be there.

Some of the artists that I got to see demonstrate were Ken Auster, painting a large painting in such a short amount of time, impressive, Matt Smith, Kim Lordier, Camille Przewodek and Ned Mueller. Ned and Camille were on stage together, it was a treat to watch them paint, but also to listen to the comedy routine between them. Russian Master, Nikolai Dubovnik demoed on stage. A bit of wisdom he imparted was to be able to throw a stone from your focal point to the front of the canvas.

There were lectures and slides by Scott Christensen, Clyde Aspevig, Jean Stern and Richard Ormond, the leading authority on John Singer Sargeant. All of them were so inspiring. Clyde’s lecture was very moving with his love for the land and nature. I think it really struck a chord with a lot of artists, including me. Each day was packed with informative and exciting events. And it was so wonderful to meet some of the artists that I’ve read about and “friended” on facebook.

Eric Rhoades gathering us all together for the group photo.

In addition to the demos and lectures, there were vendors there such as Gamblin, my favorite framer, Randy Higbee (King of Frames), Judson Art Outfitters, Raymar Art and Rosemary Brushes among others. Robert Gamblin and Carl Judson were manning their booth, as was Randy Higbee in his. Their were deals on products and lots of information from the vendors. At the end of the Convention, The Plein Air Painters of America awarded Steve Doherty, the editor of Plein Air Magazine,  a Lifetime Achievement Award.

There were some impromptu art happenings during the event also. Cory Trepanier showed up to speak about plein air painting in the artic and showed a movie of his experiences. Alexey Steel and Gil Dellinger painted a portrait of Pierre Sennelier in the trade show room. Yes, the Sennelier family that provided the paints for Gaugin and Cezanne.

The next morning we got up and boarded the bus for Red Rocks Park. I was totally blown away by the beauty of the area. I didn’t expect to see this so close to Vegas. The weather wasn’t what we had hoped for. It was raining off and on, cold and windy. I did hear that some artists even experienced snow. I stayed down lower on a hill to get out of the wind, but I didn’t escape the rain. My second canvas I had to wipe off twice to get a good start.

This was my first painting of the day.

The second painting after wiping it off twice.

The next and final day we went to Bonnie Springs in the Red Rocks. The weather was perfect. I stopped at the lower location and painted the mountain (that I couldn’t see much of the day before). After painting I walked up to the western tourist town to look around and to meet some of the artists. There was so much to paint up there, I wish I had gone on a little further and not been so anxious to get out and paint immediately. There is just never enough time to fit everything in, but this certainly had as much as I could handle in four days.

Bonnie Springs, Red Rocks

Eric also announced the location for the Second Annual Plein Air Convention and Expo for 2013. It will be held at Pacific Grove, CA at Asilomar. I was so pleased with the first convention that I certainly plan on being at the next one.

The next morning, I took off for the Grand Canyon with my friends Hai Ou Hou of Maryland and Peggy Immel of Taos in another car. Deb Groesser wasn’t able to continue on with us this time, but we will be meeting up in May in Taos for the Plein Air Artists of Colorado Annual Show. But, these are other painting adventures.

Hope to see some of you next year at the Second Convention.

Becky

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