Formed about 10 years ago, our group communicates by email. Each year, at a late winter meeting we plan a tentative calendar for paintouts from March through November and these dates are added to as artists find new locations or decide to become more involved and host the paintouts. The host is responsible for choosing a location, time and date and sending directions to the painters who will all meet at the parking spot.
We schedule locations throughout the Western New York area from Olcott and Wilson on Lake Erie, into Niagara Falls and Buffalo as well as parks and towns in all of Erie and Niagara Counties. NFPAP artists occasionally join with East Aurora and Rochester (GVPAP) painting groups for longer distance paint outs as well. Some of the members have traveled together for overnight or weekend camping at Allegheny, Letchworth, Finger Lakes and Vermont.
We have a few social get togethers, winter meetings to critique works, discuss methods or share materials and ideas. Friendships have developed and although our membership is currently mostly female we have had many men as members through the years.
A schedule for each month is emailed to our 40 or so members and they are asked to contact the host of each paintout if they plan to attend, there is safety in numbers in some of the out of the way wooded areas, questionable neighborhoods or isolated places. We most often paint in the morning, meet for a lunch and art sharing. Some painters leave after lunch while others stay a bit longer to finish up.
All media are represented and the artists have different expectations such as experimentation, documenting, expressing or just improving their painting skills. Some people prefer city and building sites while others want nature and the silence of wooded spots. Most are painters, oil, acrylic, watercolor and pastel are most common in the field.
Here's a link to the blog I wrote about painting together. Thanks again!
ReplyDeletehttp://michelleweglerart.com/blog/108396/new-painting-friends