After the Rain, acrylic on paper, 21x14in., originally uploaded by ahtravis.
“Plein Air Paintings on Exhibit at Hospital”, Catskill Mountain News, April 22, 2009, p. 8A
Margaretville, NY–The Margaretville Memorial Hospital and the Roxbury Arts Group is hosting an exhibition of paintings from members of the East Branch Delaware River Plein Air Painters, April through June, in the hospital’s central lobby on Hwy 28.
Plein air painting means painting that is done outside, directly from the subject and with the sunshine and shadows before the painter. Last year a group of people who enjoy the outdoors gathered once a week to paint together. These were friends and acquaintances, some professional painters but an equal number just folks who like painting company and who enjoy being outside in this fashion, the same as hunters like being in the woods and skiers enjoy the snow and slopes.
They called themselves the East Branch Delaware River Plein Air Painters and they met once a week on varying days, to accommodate working schedules and including weekends, so that weekenders could participate. These gatherings to paint are called “paint outs”. The exhibition consists of a selection of their work from the painting season of 2008.
Ten painters, Oneida Hammond, Jim Howie, Susan Norton Howie, Nancy McShane, Margaret Leveson, Patrice Lorenz, Marilyn Silver, Carole Steene, Alix Hallman Travis and Ros Welchman each have two works of local subjects on display. Each piece was substantially painted on site, in the glorious Catskill outside. It is fun to try to identify the locations.
There is the red bridge that can be glimpsed from Route 28 east of Arkville, Stone Tavern Farm, Roxbury, the wooden water tower on Cemetery Road, Margaretville, the view from the Old School Baptist Church, Denver, as well as several local and recognizable farm structures, water formations and views. The works are as varied as the membership; each represents the response of an individual painter to the same site. Some of the paintings are of buildings, some of landscapes, some of flowers blooming at the time of the paint out. Various mediums are also represented; there is oil on canvas, ink on paper, watercolor, and acrylic. The styles too vary; some subjects are represented in great detail, some are “impressionistic“, highly colored and influenced by the light, another is abstract, and some stylistic renderings of flowers.
The variety makes the point that the group invites any interested persons to join them for the outside painting season of summer of 2009. There is no fee, anyone with any level of experience and painting in any medium is welcome. There is no obligation. One needs only to add their name to an email list and they will be notified weekly of the day and the location with directions to the next paintout.
This summer the group has been challenged by the Middletown Historical Society to paint selected historical sites in the Middletown area. Participating painters may offer a selection of the paintings produced to be auctioned for the benefit of the historical society and the artists at a special event Friday, Nov. 27 at Margaretville Commons. The funds raised for the historical society will be used to place historical markers in the area. For details, guidelines and to be placed on the email notification list, please contact Alix Travis.
See Flickr postings for my EBDRPAP 2008 paintings.
bragg hollow studio 