A Day of Plein Air Painting with Marni Maree
Saturday, June 8, 2024 9am. Nine of the Prince William Art Society members met at the Occoquan Regional Park with Marni Maree (our Plein Air Teacher) and Tom Payne (PWAS Member at Large and Workshop Coordinator) in the shade, down by the river with our plein air backpacks, sketchbooks, and a bucket.
Artists in the Great Out Doors
Some of the students were experienced plein air painters and a few were first time painters out in the wild of Occoquan. Although fish were jumping out of the water behind Marni, and the ducks a-quacking, the students listened attentively to our fearless leader's instructions.
A Day of Painting in a Van Down by the River
A very beautiful day it was. The temperature was very comfortable, the sky was a big blue umbrella and the shade next to the Occoquan River was a big bonus too.
Location to Paint: Occoquan Regional Park 9751 Ox Rd, Lorton, VA 22079 Lots of lovely amenities besides all the paintable views including a restaurant and restrooms!
Sidenote: Whenever I hear the phrase down by the river, I remember the Chris Farley SNL sketch of Matt Foley. Well, we weren't in a van, but we were certainly down by the river, with other folks getting their morning walk or runs in. Give a shoutout if you remember that one! Some people biking, some strolling, some with a good book on a bench. Others were on the water in various floating devices and boats. They were all fair game if they happened to appear in one of our paintings.
Supplies List
The supply list was easy, nothing complicated and very easy to carry.
After giving out her instructions, the students were let loose. Release the Krackin. Plant thyself in your spot. Bust out the colors and throw down!
PWAS Plein Air Painting Class Members
Now I must say, in defense of our art, for those of us that need it (me), the first step in the first of the 3 challenges was to quickly and without too much thought to the process, use only about 3 watercolors with a large aqua pen to block in the basics of what we saw in our selected paint subject. Step 2 was to let that dry. Step 3 was to then use a waterproof ink pen in our NON-DOMINANT hand and draw in the shapes of what we saw. As you can imagine, if you're right or left-handed and have to use your other hand to draw...your brain explodes.
Yet, it was a very interesting lesson.
And thank the powers that be for creative license. The photos of the plein air paintings below may or may not be done per artist and their choice to add more or not after they got home.
Donna Liguria
Donna Liguria beginning her painting, photo by Tom Payne
Mark Murphy
David Dillon
Robert Dew
Anna Gatling
Emily Hawes
Kathleen Gates and Joe Gates
Sonya Cromwell
Plein Air Painting
Artists
are nothing but out-of-the box creative people aren't they? And Marni
gave us so many tips and suggestions that were so very helpful! I do
believe we all had a terrific time and it was so nice to be out of the
studio, out of the house and watching, hearing, experiencing nature -in
your face- for a change. The chirps and quacks, the snippets of passerby conversation, the pitter-patter of jogging feet, as well as the ever present zoom of cars across the bridge were all a part of the flavors of the day from this spot on the river.
Challenge 2 was to take 2 pages of your sketchbook, breaking up into sections and doing small studies of something you see. Like close up leaves and grasses, or reflections on the water.
Challenge 3 was to do something we see but leave room on the page to write words - about the day, the location, the feeling...in a way its a diary of the day. Not sure many of us got to this challenge but it is a great way to remember the day in your art journal. Did anyone finish this task yet?
PWAS Question: Do we members that take a PWAS Plein Air Class, automatically become a part of the Plein Air Posse? Inquiring minds want to know. And second question, when can we do this again?
Free with support from the Prince William Arts Council and the Prince William Parks and Recreation
Artistry Spin Blogmaster and an artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Donna's Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.
Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm
Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership
Looks like a great day for this adventure and everyone’s paintings are VERY impressive!
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