PleinAir Magazine – August 2019

82 August-September 2019 / http://www.pleinairmagazine.com

W

henthetreesbeginto

showofftheirnew

growth,it’sa signal

forpaintersto head

outdoors,easelsandsuppliesin hand.

Nineyearsago,PleinAirMagazine

publisherEricRhoadscreatedthe

annualPublisher’sInvitationalin the

AdirondackMountainsof upstateNew

Yorkto provideartistsa headstarton

thepeakpleinairseasonwitha bitof

springtraining.Theweeklongevent

offersa retreatforartistsof allskilllevels

—noworkshops,noexhibitions,no

competitions,justpainterspainting.After

a solidweekof capturingtheincredible

sceneryonpaperandcanvas,artistsare

notonlytunedup,butinspired.

Thisyear, 86 artistsgatheredat PaulSmith’sCollegeof theAdirondacks,

insidethepristineandprotectedAdirondackPark,forthe9thannualevent.

StartingwithSaturday-nightorientation,wherepaintersgatheredfordinner

and drinks, Rhoads showed images of Hudson River School paintings done

in theAdirondacks—placesto which

hetookretreatersthroughouttheweek.

Thepaintersstayedin dormsat the

college,comingtogetherforbreakfast

beforejoiningoneof twopainting

groups—orgoingoffontheirown

—thenmeeting,alltogetheragain,for

dinnerin theevening.

Rhoadssayshedesignedthe

eventto bringpeopletogether,to help

themmakenewfriendsandrenewold

acquaintances.“Sharingdormsuitesfor

four,paintersbecomeveryclosefriends

aftera weektogether,”headds.“We’ve

hadlifetimefriendshipsdevelopas a

resultof thisevent,andpainterskeep

returningto renewthosefriendships

andpainttogether.”

ArtistAndrewJuddfromTorontohadthisto sayabouttheexperience,

“Thisis thefirsttimeI’veattendedsucha largepaintingevent,andfrankly

I wasnervous.Withso manypeopleattending,I thoughtit mightfeel

disjointed or cliquish, but there wasn’t a hint of either. The amazing thing

MAKING

FRIENDSHIPS AND ART

IN THE ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS

plein air journeys

Attendees pose for a group photo.

A gorgeous waterfall provides inspiration.