I don’t consider myself competitive, in the sports sense of the word, i.e. my team is great and yours stinks! I do enjoy pushing myself to learn new things and develop as a person. August 9th culminated a Plein Air competition which had been running for 3 months. Artists could submit 3 paintings done on location at North Hills Mall in Raleigh, North Carolina. I learned about the competition from a friend (thanks, Chris) in early July and the race was on. Could I paint three images in the few weeks that remained? Well, I could try!
This is a painting of the Renaissance Hotel, painted in acrylic, 11 x 14, over a period of several days. This seemed like the most interesting angle of the building and the only place I could be out of the way of delivery trucks and other vehicular traffic. It came with the heat of baking pavement and the intermittent fragrance of dumpster de jour from a restaurant. Even so, the sight of an artist in public seems to be a magnet for the curious. All kinds of people came and spoke to me. I didn’t have business cards yet, but I painted my business email on slips of paper out of my mileage notebook. Hey, it worked!
The Flower Vendors set up in front of the Alexan on Thursdays. It took me two trips to complete this and both times I was run off by a rain storm. We couldn’t take pictures and work in the studio, so it just had to do, time was up for my Thursdays. It was painted in oils, 11 x 14.
The Alexan is a gated apartment building. Through the metal gate, this courtyard beckons. As I set up to paint, a tall girl, absorbed in some frantic conversation, entered the courtyard and sat on the wall inside. I decided to paint her first, since I didn’t know how long she would stay there and I thought it would add interest to the painting. I shouldn’t have worried. I think the painting dried days later, before she finished. It is also painted in oils, 11 x 14. I finished this on the last day of the 3 month portion of the contest.
On August 9th, the mall held the Plein Air Art Festival with a 3 hour Quick Paint competition, music, booths and activities for kids. I set up on Main Street, the designated area for the competition. It was in the mid 80′s at 10AM when I started and the temperature was climbing rapidly. At 12:50PM I signed my painting, packed up, and headed for Art Source to turn in my entry. I felt certain I would not win an award, but I was pleased with my progress to be able to accomplish what I had in the time given. I was in such a hurry, I forgot to name it.
I didn’t take my camera with me to the festival. This photo, from the North Hills Mall management, is the painting I rendered of the fountain, again in oils, 11 x 14.
I was shocked when I realized that the 2nd place ribbon was on MY painting! It was a great event and I hope to participate again next year.
