Inside the Plein Air Painters of Mendocino
Inside the Plein Air Painters of Mendocino
Submitted by Suzi Marquess Long, Artist
The term en plein air is a French expression which means “In the Open Air” and is used to describe painting in the outside environment rather than in a studio. Alfresco means the same in English, but in Italian, the term al fresco means in jail or simply cool air. Thanks, Wikipedia!
We definitely have lots of cool air here, but “in the open air” is where the PAPM (Plein Air Painters of Mendocino) are happiest. The incredible natural light, the fresh ocean breeze and negative ions in the atmosphere all combine to make perfect conditions for outdoor painting.
The PAPM are an unstructured group of people who like to paint outside and capture nature in the moment. We try to allocate two Thursday afternoons a month to the same location so we have a chance to finish an oil, or make two pastels, or have a rain day and still have a day to get to “that spot” together. We live near the coast and usually paint the sea, but in autumn we travel into the Anderson and Alexander Valleys to capture the fall colors of grapes, apple trees, and barns.
Lynn Crutcher is inspired by flowers. Agnes Woolsey paints headland scenes and rivers; Hope Stevenson paints with her palette knife; John Hewitt’s sweeping watercolors are quite lively; Maeve Croghan paints in a lyrical style; Suzi Marquess Long paints with pastels in bright colors. There are about thirty-five artists on our email list and our new website is under construction. Please contact suzilongonart@aol.com 707/937-5664 for more information.
