More Cherry Blossoms

We had a second day at the Japanese Gardens side of the Buffalo History Museum, Spring is so exciting when you are a plein air painter!  

Jean MacDonald

Diane Groupil

Watercolor and pen, looking up to the museum

Japanese Gardens and the Cherry Blossoms

Two Saturdays were spent at Buffalo History Museum's annual Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival to capture the pink of trees behind the museum. On the first day, a dozen painters went to the shores of Mirror Lake, aptly named, and created a variety of scenes of sculpture, islands, elegant trees and reflections.

On our second painting day the flowering trees attracted the most attention. But the next biggest event was Jeanette's umbrella as it decided to be a sail and tipped her pastels and easel onto the path. Neatly arranged hues and values probably still decorate their landing spot behind the museum. Not quite a chalk fest, this was a true pastel mess.

Linda and oils

Jeannette and pastels

Bernie with acrylics

Sharon and pastel

Linda's painting in progress

The biggest mishap

Kath's rocks in oil

Bernie's pastel trees

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Diane and watercolors

Before the crowds, the park was still busy with guests

H H Richardson

A famous architect, a notorious location and painters. Where are we? The huge former Buffalo Psych Center, now being updated and renovated for other uses. One of the largest buildings by Henry H. Richardson, it becomes his largest when you realize it is attached to all the other buildings on the site, with overhead walks and underground tunnels. This famous landmark is on Elmwood Avenue and Forest, right next to Buffalo State College.

Bernie, Anne, Kath and Sharon

Carol, Paulette, Joan and Donna

Anne and Carol adding dressing to a fresh made lunch to share.

Peggy Walker's beautiful watercolor of the facade

Planning 2016

An afternoon meeting brought together 12 eager plein air painters to plan the 2016 painting season. Public events, parks, quaint neighborhoods, rusty industrial sites and beautiful gardens were all added to the preliminary calendar, from April to October. We are all looking forward to that superior Spring sunshine!

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