On the river in Tonawanda

Riverwalk in Tonawanda is a trail along the Niagara river for walkers, skaters and cyclists, it extends down into Buffalo and up towards Niagara Falls. 

 Donna Hale and Youngstown Carol were settled near the water to paint. It was a bit breezy and the air had an Autumn chill, but the sun shined and it was all together lovely for a small group of Niagara Frontier Plein Air Painters.

Anne Zohur sat in the dappled shade of a Sycamore tree, you can see two other painters in the distance.  Kath Schifano, not in the picture worked on an architecture portrait of the well known lunch spot, Mississippi Mudds.

Fog at Bond's Lake

An early morning photo of the fog at Bond's Lake, the scene that Kathy Schifano painted.

This is her pastel painting 'Looking For Color', a speedy work before the fog lifted.

 Sherrill Primo made a morning painting to capture the fog, and later worked on a beautiful daylight scene from the same vantage. The two works side by side demonstrate how important color and light are to a realistic painter.

 Joan Shaw faced the opposite direction, capturing the beautiful meadow at the end of the road with oil paints, framed by a majestic hill rising into the distance.

Donna Hale used her pastels on a goldenrod background to catch the early colors of Fall on this chilly day.

NFPAP at 464 Gallery

There is no doubt we like to eat, this table was just crumbs by the end of the evening.

This is a bit more of the food and back room of the gallery. There was much to see and so many to talk to that the camera stayed in my pocket. I am hoping someone else took photos because the gallery was amazing! There were about 30 plein air paintings celebrating western New York.

Our poster and invitation, designed by Marcus Wise at the gallery featured the palette of Linda Ludwig of East Aurora.

Niagara Frontier Plein Air Painters Explained

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. 

Big turnout at Ferry Village

Ferry Village was the original site of a ferry landing and a well known dance hall from the early 20th century. Now it is the edge of Beaver Island State Park, a residential area and a great little restaurant for summer treats. Each year this spot is scheduled more painters show up, it has water, boats, trees, a power plant across the river, assorted buildings, picnic area and docks. Lots more painters skipped lunch to finish working. 

Jean MacDonald

Joan Shaw

Best of all, it has great food and a lovely spot for lunch.

More Cherry Blossom views

The Japanese Gardens at the History Museum in Buffalo are ablaze in pink in Springtime. Our painters have three painting excursions planned there this year. Bright Sunlight, beautiful colors, flowers blooming, and blinding sunshine all made this day beautiful

Linda Ludwig and her wet painting prepare to leave

Kathy Schifano is surrounded by pink

Jean McDonald made good use of the barrier stones

Diane Goupil cools on another boulder

Whirlpool Park

Find Shade. Shade is important to plein air artists as the sun gives your colors unusual brightness and paintings look muddy when brought indoors. Sun also makes us hotter when the temperature is trying to break records. I didn't plan to paint and went to Whirlpool for a few minutes and to take pictures. Whirlpool is a long narrow park along the ridge of the Niagara Gorge and painters were nowhere to be found, until I stepped under the massive trees on the parkway side of the park. Nestled in a solid area of deep dark cool shadows, three painters were relaxing, escaped from the searing heat and feasting on the light and shadows of DeVeaux woods.

Joan Shaw, looking towards the old Devil's Hole path.

Sherrill Primo, who plans to return another morning to complete this painting.

colors beginning in the park

Donna Hale, using pastel

2015 show at 464 Gallery

Landscape: The Nature of Things

464 Gallery, on Amherst Street in Buffalo will host our group's 2015 Exhibition from 8/28 to 9/15 2015. We hope you can join us for the artists reception on August 28 from 6-8 pm. There will be great treats and a cash bar that evening. It's a wonderful location for a gallery and we hope to see you there. The gallery is open Wednesday to Friday 12-6 and Saturdays until 4pm.

Summer at the Botanical Gardens and South Park

While the north greenhouse of the venerable greenhouses is being rebuilt the painters assembled in the shade of large trees to paint near the south greenhouse. The lovely artistic benches, newly painted perennials and blossoming bushes amidst garden sculpture and a fountain (with frogs) at this location had us wondering what to choose from in all beautiful directions.

 Paulette, the host, at her easel

 Paulette in the shade and Laurene

 Laurene and Claudia came with Kathy

Jennifer and Peggy

Forest Lawn

Forest Lawn is like a huge city park, full of mature trees, a creek, grand entrances and sculptures of all sizes. On a cool and slightly overcast day painters met at the Main Street arch entrance and settled in for a quiet afternoon in the midst of Buffalo noise and activity.

Diane, Jean, Peggy and Sharon 

 Watercolor by Sharon

 Watercolor by Peggy

Where Elks Rest, pastel by Kathy

Lockport Nature Trail in April

One of our early Spring paintouts was in Lockport, the trees were just budding but the forest floor had Trillium galore, ferns unrolling, critters scampering and birds singing.

Apparently, looking at these photos, Lockport Nature Trail is a truly beautiful place to walk and paint, but it is big. I heard from one painter who worked there but couldn't find the group, she said it was lovely. 

Cherry Blossom Festival, 2 Saturdays

Early May brings Spring and cherry blossoms to Western New York and plein air painters to the History Museum in Buffalo. The 2nd annual Cherry Blossom festival coincided with spectacular sunny weather. On the first Saturday the blossoms were beginning to open and a week later they were in full fashion and breezes brought the petals shimmering across the entire landscape. Painters from 'Niagara Painters' joined us on the second visit.

 Jeannette Pikturna had a lot of visitors from her spot on the path near the islands. Two of these pastel paintings are in the NACC show, through June.

 Paulette Jurek was there with the bonsai society, I caught her fishing for water for those elegant miniature trees.

 These two photos show the difference between morning and afternoon light in the same spot, with Kathy Schifano's painting in progress on her pochade.

Fellow artist and Artsphere Gallery owner Doreen showed up with her student, Margaret.