 |
| Spring Beauties, 8x10, oil on panel See www.marioncorbinmayer.com for purchase information
Last weekend my husband Rob (aka "el Patron") and I
drove to New Harmony, IN, to attend "The First Brush of Spring" - a
plein air painting competition sponsored by the Hoosier Salon and the Indiana
Plein Air Painters Assoc. (IPAPA). It was a really fun event, even though
the weather did not cooperate. It was cold! We rented a golf cart
for one day and froze as we explored New Harmony. The artists who braved
the weather to paint looked far colder though.
|
I only painted one
day and kept very close to our B&B. In fact I set up on the porch and
painted the pansies. Coco, one of the resident cats posed very briefly,
so I utilized photo reference to add her to the painting. She just wouldn't
hold still!
 |
| First pass on ms Coco the cat |
 |
| Transparent underpainting |
New Harmony is a
very picturesque town on the Wabash River in the southwest corner of
Indiana. Originally started as an "intentional community" it
continues in spite of economic ups & downs as a destination for artists,
musicians and writers. It has attracted many baby boomers as a retirement
community as well. The town really welcomed the invasion of artists for the
weekend. Since the weather was iffy people were painting
in restaurants, book stores
& wine bars. The local ice cream parlor featured wonderful handmade
flavors. (http://newharmony.org/)
We stayed at Cooks
on Brewery (http://cooksonbrewery.com/)
and had a fabulous time. Cooks has three rooms to offer and we lucked
into the first floor accessible room. This was great since my knee had gone “wonky.”
It also featured a huge closet perfect for my stash of painting supplies.
The bed was comfy, the linens smooth and the shared living areas cozy. Each
morning the breakfast was amazing and provided a terrific start to each day. Jonathan
and David were excellent hosts. We
enjoyed the company of the resident cats as well but no cat hair. Wonder how
they manage that? Sure doesn't work that
way at my house…
 |
| Cooks on Brewery B and B |
It was fun to hang
out with so many talented artists for the weekend. There was a fabulous art sale Saturday morning. So many great little paintings for sale by many of the artists who attended the event! I did not enter the competition, but maybe next year. I was too busy exploring New Harmony and soaking in the art energy...
We plan to return next
April.
