SOLDI guess to the uninitiated the word 'festival' makes these events sound like fun...sort of a circus or party. True;it is a spectacle in which the public is invited and encouraged to watch artists make paintings on the spot. And there is usually quite a fancy party on the final night of the event for the opening of the exhibition. And it is fun for the artists to hang out and rub paint stained shoulders with each other all week. And it is usually enjoyable to speak to the public about my art. It is delightful to find new admirers for my work.
But there is quite a bit of hard work and pressure. The sponsoring school or community does not want empty walls for the exhibit and neither do the artists who have often traveled cross country at great expense, lugging paint tubes, easels, brushes, pastel boxes and some decent clothes.
Most of these events finish with a Saturday morning "Quick Draw " during which artists have two hours after the buzzer sounds to begin and finish a painting, slap it into a frame and watch it get auctioned off. (or thrown into the lake)
I will be at my first of the season Tuesday through Saturday in lovely Wayne, PA on the Main Line of Philadelphia. I hope to see some familiar faces there. Come on out and say "hi" to me and 29 other nationally known artists who have been juried in to this Plein Air Festival.
No comments:
Post a Comment