IMPT: A Note From Wendie Concerning the Future of WIPAPA

In 2006 I started instigating the beginnings of WIPAPA . Having been bitten by the plein air bug and seeing the advantages of another state organization of plein air artists and the advantages of artists painting in community we dug in and begin to build. Together we have created one of the most active plein air organizations in the country!

• I see plein air as cutting edge in terms of creating new collectors of original art therefore changing culture in our state. 
• I see children growing up in communities where it has now become normal to see artists painting on the streets.
• I see organizations and communities benefiting financially when artists descend. 
• I see an enormous body of cherished paintings documenting this beautiful state we live in reminding their owners that this is what they felt, smelled and saw.
• I see artists who normally work in isolation gathering together in friendship, helping each other by sharing artists secrets freely, forging friendships across economic, political, racial and social boundaries. 
• I have seen some of you become so skilled as to begin to be seen on a national level.

 Plein Air painting has done all of this good. But there is so much more for us to do!!!

You may have heard that at the WIPAPA holiday party in January I announced that December 31st 2016 would be my final day as the day to day administrator of WIPAPA. I have loved serving you but have had some life changes and I believe for the organization to grow others need to contribute. I am not planning to leave the group however I see myself as more of an Ambassador after that.

It is my hope that a number of you would be willing to step up and serve on a board. The group may wish to review and update the current mission statement as well. To this end we will be using many tools to ascertain a vision for the future of WIPAPA. I am telling you this now so that I can pass on the knowledge I have gained before I leave.

Here are just some of the tasks that will need warm bodies:

• Blog administrator: the blog acts as a communication tool or clearinghouse for all things "Plein Air" in Wisconsin. It's possible for more than one person to do this.

• Website Director: The group may wish to expand it's web presence in this way.

• Event Director: We have had anywhere from 1 to 3 juried shows at various venues each year. This could also be broken down into parts for more than one person. Over the years I have found ways to simplify this process immensely!

• Monthly open paint day Facilitator: Finding venues and announcing them.

• We could use both a Bookkeeper and an Accountant: I have always believed we should become a Not for profit but you should decide that.

• Ambassador: I would still be willing to do the work of meeting with communities to help them develop new events...I spend a great deal of time with this.

Please be thinking about these things as we move into the plein air season and watch for communications this year that may ask for your opinions. It's your group...lets make it even better!!

Please share this info!

The plein truth, 
Wendie Thompson

Important Survey! Regarding Your voice at the Plein Air Convention!

This survey has ended it's comment period...stay tuned for results! Thank you all who offered your input!!!

Greetings all!!

Recently in the October-November issue of Plein Air Magazine, Editor Eric Rhoads suggested that the Plein Air community would benefit from the creation of a sanctioning body to rate Plein Air events.

In this article he suggested standards for running these events, in order to maintain the quality of work and sustain the interests of collectors. There will be a meeting to discuss this idea and the issues raised at the next Plein Air Convention being held in a couple of weeks.

In order to give the Plein Air community a voice at that meeting, some of my fellow WIPAPA members and I have created a survey that deals with these issues.

The survey is only 22 questions and takes about 10 minutes to complete. If this interests you, I urge you to take the survey and offer your opinions to the discussion. 

I've listed the original article here:

http://imgsrv.pleinairconvention.com/image/pace/UserFiles/File/PDF/PAMOctNov12PubLetter.pdf

 After reading that, please take the survey:

Click here to take survey

Impressions of Red Rock Plein Air Convention by Christine Contardi

Thank you Christine for sharing!!! Photos and verbiage belong to Christine Contardi!


Wendie , I thought I would write you about some of my impressions from The Plein Air Convention in Las Vegas. 

First of all, I would highly recommend to all my fellow artists, the experience of being with a group of painters with a passion for painting outdoors. It was wonderful.  It is worth the price of admission for that alone.  We started out the convention with lectures and demonstrations the first two days. We then painted at the old Howard Hughes ranch the next day. The last day of the convention we painted at Bonnie Springs. 


 Next year in April, they will have another convention in Carmel, CA.  I encourage my WIPAPA buddies to seriously consider going to this next one.  The  first day started with a lecture from Richard Robinson.  He is a painter from New Zealand. I have seen some of his videos, excerpts of which you can see on you tube.  I lived briefly in New Zealand and am familiar with some of the areas that Richard has painted.  The landscapes of Aotearoa (NZ)  are breathtaking.   Richard talked about the concept of Notan.  An Asian concept of the play of light and dark shapes in relation to each other to form a pleasing pattern. Design is the most important part of the painting. Jeremy Lipking, Tony Pro, and Alexey Steele did a demonstration of portrait painting using one model.  Tony said that every painting  you paint is a self-portrait   no matter what the subject matter It is about your state of mind and understanding of your subject at that moment.  

Tony Pro

Clyde Aspvig  spoke about having taste and restraint in your paintings. Don't be satisfied by the obvious view.  Lose the unnecessary and simplify  that what nature gives us. Contemplate nature in the microcosm such as moss on a rock and translate that into a landscape painting by using the patterns and textures of the moss into your treatment of a tree or field.  Fractal patterns of a bird's wings can be writ large when painting rocks , for example.  


 Next we were treated to a lecture by the grandson of John Singer Sargeant.  Sargeant carefully composed his paintings and nothing was left to chance.  He did what needed to be done to serve the composition. Ulrich Gleiter and Kim Lordier then demonstrated from paintings they had done out in the field. Ulrich paints boldly with impasto strokes and strong chroma. Kim worked in pastel and tries for a strong focal point by softening edges and giving the viewer less information around the last few inches of the canvas.  


Ken Auster did a demo on a huge canvas of a trolley car in San Francisco.  The best advice he gave and I took with me was that we see things for  what they are because of what is behind them. The strength of the focal point will determine how much detail you will need to support the focal point. Matt Smith talked about how there is no such thing as a plein air style.  Reflected light is everywhere. Painting bounced light in the shadows will help infuse light into the painting. He puts his skies in last so they aren't too rich or too dark. If you can keep your values to 3 or 4 it makes for a more pleasing picture. 


 Scott Christensen talked about being vulnerable and taking chances. He believes , like Carlson, that overstatement is a weakness.   Camille Przewodek and Ned Mueller demoed together. Camille's bold use of color starts at the very first brushstroke. Her philosophy is ," it is easier to tame a stallion then bring a dead horse back to life."  Ned begins by doing value studies and concentrates on shapes , not the things of which  he is painting. Don't think about the water, trees and rocks you are painting but the abstract design of their forms.  Ken Backhaus'  lecture  was on the decisions an artist must make for a successful painting. He used other artists work to bring home the points of design, asymmetry, color harmony, atmosphere, pattern, brushwork, subtlety of values, and formatting of the painting itself.   

Alexey Steele

All in all the Plein Air convention in Vegas was an amazing experience.  I will never forget Alexey Steele bravely facing a wet and wild day while yelling, " Vegas , baby!"  or Alexey spontaneously doing a portrait of the Sennelier's representative.  We also watched an incredible video of plein air painting in the Arctic circle which is available for purchase if any of you are interested.  Facing the cold and the mosquitos of Wisconsin plein air painting is nothing compared to what Cory had to go through !!  So much more happened but I hope this little synopsis can offer a little glimpse of what this  experience meant to me.  Sincerely ,   Christine Contardi

Discount offer...Plein Air Convention and Expo Las Vegas April 12-15 2012

MEMBERS: Please Read below. Member discount attached! 

Dear Members: Next spring, PleinAir magazine is holding what may well be the largest gathering of artists in history. The publishers expect as many as 750 artists to gather for the first PleinAir Convention & Expo, set for April 12-15, 2012, at the Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa and Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area in Las Vegas. They have offered our members a special code for a $100 discount on registration. The magazine says the conference is selling fast, and once they hit their 750-person limit, they cannot add more people. So if you’d like to go, they’re recommending you sign up early. They also believe the hotel will sell out fast. To use the code, simply go to www.pleinairconvention.com, click on the register button and fill out your information. You’ll be asked if you have a special code. Insert the following code:             Code: WIPAPA You can learn more about the conference at Pleinairconvention.com. We’re pretty excited about this event and all the top artists attending. Remember to register early to be assured a seat. Sincerely, Wendie Thompson

Congratulations Lynn Rix and Pamela Ruschman; Opening Sept 15th Schlitz Audubon Nature Center

Pamela Ruschman

Lynn Rix

Lynn Rix

Lynn Rix

Pamela Ruschman

Pamela Ruschman

Plein Air Artists featured at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center

Milwaukee, WI – Schlitz Audubon Nature Center (SANC) is pleased to feature Plein Air artists Pamela Ruschman and Lynn Rix at an Art Exhibit held Thursday, September 15 from 5:30pm – 9:00pm at SANC.  The exhibit will feature over 80 paintings completed by the two artists “en plein air” on the grounds of Schlitz Audubon Nature Center over the course of the year.

“En plein air” in French literally means “in the open air,” where artists venture out of their studios to investigate and capture the effects of light on various subjects. The paintings featured at the Art Exhibit were completed entirely in plein air and with no photo references.

“We find that working directly from life brings honesty and rawness to our work,” Ruschman said. “You are able to see colors that are impossible to see working from photographs.”

 The two painters were introduced to the property when Ruschman’s four-year-old son began his first day of preschool at the Center. Intrigued by the beauty of the Autumn season, the artists began an intensive study of the property and found that all seasons could be captured in art. 

“We love the entire visual and sensory experience of painting plein air,” Ruschman said. “From the solitary silence to the howling winds, and even the crackling under our feet during the changing of the seasons.”

Audubon Preschool Teacher Liesl Schultz will also be showcasing a photography exhibit, Little Hands, Big Discoveries. The exhibit includes a collection of over 20 portraits that capture nature-based exploration by SANC preschoolers throughout the year.

Ruschman and Rix have generously committed to donating 40% of each sale to support environmental education efforts at SANC. The exhibit will also remain on display at SANC on Friday, September 16 from 9:00am – 11:30am.

Pre-registration for this event is strongly encouraged. Call 414-352-2880 ext. 0 to RSVP.

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Schlitz Audubon Nature Center

1111 E. Brown Deer Road Milwaukee, WI 53217

414-352-2880 www.sanc.org

Also see this article in Outdoor Painter the online version of Plein Air Magazine:http://www.outdoorpainter.com/exhibits/two-artists-show-nature-center-work.html