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5. The Current Plein Air Painting Phenomenon Amateur artists as well as professionals, in the twentieth century, found challenge and enjoyment in attempting to capture scenes on canvas or paper outdoors. One of the most famous amateur artists in the 1940s was the prime minister of England,Sir Winston Churchill.To relieve stress from strategizing during World War II, Churchill applied brush to canvas for the first time at age forty-one. He created more than 500 oil paintings over the next forty-five years, receiving positive criticism in the press. The plein air painting movement has burgeoned in the past three decades, not only in Indiana but also throughout the country.Many state and local organizations have been established, including Arizona, Bay of Fundy, Blue Ridge, California, California of the North, Charlotte, Chicago, Colorado, Connecticut ,Florida,FourCorners,GeneseeValley,Georgia,GreatLakes,Hawaii,Iowa, Laguna, Michigan, Mid-Atlantic, Missouri, Monterey Bay, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Niagara Frontier, North Woods, Ocala (Florida),Oregon,Pikes Peak,Rancocas Valley,Rocky Mountain,Sacramento, Snake River,Southeast,the North,Utah,Virginia,Washington,West,Western North Carolina, Western Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The national Plein Air Painters of America,which began with an outdoor painting event on Catalina Island in 1986, takes credit for “putting plein-air painting on the national stage, spawning seedlings that have flourished across the country.”1 Plein Air Painters of America is composed only of professional artists (presumably those making a living solely from their artwork and/or teaching art) and maintains exclusive membership rules.Their members (of the thirty-one, seven are women) are by invitation only,and they accept no unsolicited submissions for signature membership or guest artist status.Their annual exhibitions and sales feature themes such as the Allure of Water (2012) and Our National Parks (exhibit traveling through 2013).In addition to income from selling their paintings, artist-members conduct workshops (for aspiring plein air painters) throughout the United States and in other countries, including China and Holland. The International Plein Air Painters Artists Organization Worldwide, established in 2001,“is a blanket organization for the sole purpose of advancing the execution and enjoyment of plein air painting without the restrictions and limitations of borders or regions. Membership is restricted to plein air The Current Plein Air Painting Phenomenon 29 painters, those serious to learn about plein air painting, and those who wish to be benefactors advancing the plein air movement.”2 Although the organization appearstobeall-inclusive,itfeaturessignaturemembers(twenty-nine,ofwhom eighteen are women) and honorary signature members, which are juried into the organization (presumably by existing signature members).No applications werebeingacceptedasof January2012.Theassociationsponsorsonlineexhibits and worldwide paint-outs, inviting local organizations to organize their own simultaneous paint-outs that will be marketed and linked to the International Plein Air Painters Artists Organization. Plein Air Magazine, a quarterly print and digital journal that initially began in 2004 and lasted for only two years, was relaunched in 2011. Marketed as “the kind of beautiful images and practical advice that will make you a better painter, an astute collector, a successful supplier, an admired teacher, or an informed competitor,”3 the print magazine contains lavishly illustrated articles about successful contemporary and historical plein air painters and collectors, and it reports on past and upcoming events. The magazine sponsored their First Annual Plein Air Convention in April 2012 at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada. Their promotional material advertised the four-day gathering of plein air enthusiasts to include, among other agenda items, onstage demonstrations from painting legends, plein air history, in-field demonstrations from leading painters, sales advice, critiques of work, and joining the “world’s largest paint-out.” Many of the big art suppliers showcased their latest plein air products. Limited to 750 participants, the registration fee of $995 did not include lodging at the Red Rock Resort and Spa in Las Vegas, beginning at $125 per night. Organized plein air gatherings and competitions throughout America have become annual events with roughly similar agendas and scheduled activities. Fromcoasttocoast,themostprestigiouspleinair contestsare either invitational or juried to select participating artists.The weeklong or three-day competitions often advance the sponsoring organization’s ultimate goals to raise funds for its own coffers and to sell paintings for the artists.Some professional artists make a regular circuit of these events,spending the temperate months (or warm locations in winter) painting outdoors and immediately selling their wet paintings. Artist Chris Newlund has attended two such events outside Indiana: the 2009 (annual) Plein...

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