"Cooped Up" in Pennsylvania

"Cooped Up," oil, 12"h x 16"w, ©Jill Banks 2015. On view at the Wayne Art Center in Wayne, PA thru June 26

Summing up this past week at Wayne Plein Air 2015 is going to occur over the next couple of days’ posts. I’m backtracking because when stuck in the middle of the event, I literally woke up, figured out where to paint, painted, ate, figured out where to paint, painted, ate, might have painted more or handed in work at the Wayne Art Center … and then went to sleep. Plus, I didn’t want to give away all my secret locations.

Looking back, all the days were good, full, productive  but I didn’t feel truly okay until I had a couple of paintings that were clearly successful under my belt. One of the really tough things about plein air competitions is that the odds of successful paintings vs. duds must lean unusually in your favor.  I don’t expect to love every painting that pops up on my easel under any circumstances. I REALLY don’t expect to when dealing not just with my own abilities that day – but also the whims of  Mother Nature, changing light, moving subjects. Yet, for these events there are only so many days to make something happen.

A further complication is not knowing the area. In a new location (away from home), I don’t know those favorite places – the ones that will offer just the right light at that time of day, where I’ll be comfortable and something special is bound to happen. The folks at Wayne provided us with a list of suggested locations and a short blurb on what we might find there. That helped.

For “Cooped Up” I returned to the farm where we had our opening dinner and canvas stamping on Monday night – to visit the chicken coop. I was in search of a familiar subject to improve my odds.

See more of my animal and wildlife paintings in that gallery of my web site: www.jillbanks.com under Works.

I am happy with the results but it wasn’t a simple trek to that end. Sure was peaceful there, though. Always worth the effort regardless of the outcome.

More to come tomorrow and to follow.

Call for Artists
So if you, too, enjoy plein air painting, consider registering for Paint Great Falls! (Great Falls VA) to capture the town from May 28 to 30.  Registration is now open at www.greatfallsart.org/plein-air. (This is in addition to the Quick Draw on May 31.)

Thanks for reading!

Jill

Phone: 703.403.7435
Email: jill@jillbanks.com
Web: www.JillBanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com

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See the Events page for more info/updates

May 30-31: Art on the Green and Paint Great Falls, Outdoor Art Show (under a tent) and plein air competition and exhibit, Great Falls, VA

June 5-7: Rittenhouse Square: The Original Art Show, Philadelphia, PA. Sunday, June 7: I'll be the official demoist at the show at 1pm.

June 18-21: VA Beach Boardwalk Art Show, Virginia Beach, VA. Visit my booth right on the boardwalk.

June 29-July 5: Telluride Plein Air, Telluride, CO.  Juried as one of 32 artists who will spend the week painting this very cool town lined with Victorian houses, bustling street against a gorgeous mountainous backdrop.

July 11-12: Wickford Art Festival, Wickford, RI
July 18-19: Westport Fine Arts Festival, Westport, CT

August 8-9: Mystic Seaport Outdoor Art Festival, Mystic, CT

August 29-30: Shadyside... The Art Festival on Walnut Street Pittsburgh, PA

September 20 & 21: Alexandria King Street Festival, Alexandria, VA

December 3-6: One Of A Kind Show & Sale, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL