Marco Island Wet Paint Live

The day dawned overcast, cool, with a bit of a breeze.  By 8 am, I was at the Art Center, having my canvases stamped with another group of early rising anxious painters.  I had two stamped, one extra in case of disaster. 

We drew names for our placement at the evening auction.  I was quite happy with my number 4.  Early enough to not let people get tired, but not first.  Number one and Number 20 could both be more challenging. 

We received a sign with our name and our sponsors.  Thank you David Caruso, Morgan Stanley, and Gem Remotes.  Both have several of my paintings, and they tell me they bring them joy.  I love them dearly as they are very good people.

We also received a Publix bag with a couple bottles of water and a granola bar to get us going.  Lunch would be delivered later.   The Publix on Marco has a wonderful history of community service.   Thank you, Kevin

On to the Esplanade to set up.  Since it was my studio day anyway, it seemed to make sense to choose right in front of the studio and have the studios opened for the day.  My work, and that of my studio mates would be browsable during the event.  A good choice since hordes of visitors stopped in. 

 
At set up, the wind died down.  It was still overcast, so it didn't get too hot.  We've had an exceptionally warm winter, and I was prepared with a hat if needed.  I quickly blocked in the scene, using a lovely clump of greenery near me, and a couple of more distant palms, and compressed everything in between, leaving only a hint of the tall buildings and the arches.  I had used them in my painting near this spot last year, and wanted today's painting to be different. 

As the day progressed so did the painting.  For me at least, there is so much pressure  at an event like this.  If I badly while painting "en plein air" on a normal day I can take it back to the studio, to study it, refine it, and change it again and again over the next weeks or whiles until I'm ready to call it "done."  It can even go into the trash.  But today, everything was public and I wanted to look good!

In a one day event--ours was six hours--there becomes a commitment time, when if you are going to finish you have to keep moving ahead.  It becomes too late to start over, and you must push ahead to the finish.

It was fun to talk with the people who stopped by.  Some were students, some were collectors, and a good many were just people who wanted to see people painting.  There were many more participants than previous years.  The sun came out!  I think the community has caught on to the fact that Wet Paint Live is a really fun event. Here's the painting about 2 o'clock

By three I had to frame it, and after that deliver it to the Art Center for display until the Auction.  Sorry it's a little crooked! 



By auction time I was showered and dressed, and back at the Art Center.     The paintings, many of them still wet, were displayed around the room along with a silent auction painting and information about each artists.   The day's paintings from our diverse group of local artists was fabulous and there was a building excitement in the air!

A delicious buffet was provided by our local Kretches Restaurant, and the volunteer bartenders did a great job of keeping up with the local thirst.  After  some food and a calming glass of wine, the auction began. 

Every artist lives in horror that their painting may not get a bid, but bidding started strong, and my number four painting brought a very respectable amount from a delightful new collector.  I think  everyone was pleased--artists, collectors, and event organizers, Marco Island Chamber of Commerce, the Marco Island Center for the Arts, and the Marco Island Foundation for the Arts. 

And thank you to all the participants who made this year's Wet Paint Live a wonderful event!  The money raised at this event provides scholarships for Marco Island students. 

Marco Island Wet Paint, Haze in the Distance daily painting by Everglades artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Haze in the distance, Jo-Ann Sanborn

5"x7", acrylic on board

It's a busy week for the Arts.  Today, Wednesay, Jan 26th, is the monthy Last Wednesday Art Walk at the Artist Colony on the Esplanade.  You are welcome to come and share a glass of wine or other beverage, view new work, talk with the artists, hear live music, and generally enjoy a good  time. 

We will not have the People's Choice this month--after a year we've tired of having to do a theme painting each month, so are trying something new.  YOU will be able to participate in making a painting, and we'll raffle it off to one of the participants.  Visit each studio and MAKE YOUR MARK!

Tomorrow, Thursday January 27th is Marco Island Wet Paint Live.  This is a collaborative venture lead by Marco Island's Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Marco, Marco Island Art League, Marco Island Foundation for the Arts, and some of the islands artists, and other artists with ties to the island. 

Artists will have their canvases stamped between 8-9 am, and be on their chosen site to paint by 9 am.  They'll paint until 3 pm, frame and bring their completed canvases to the Art League on Winterberry Avenue at 4 pm. 

In addition to the artists that you've come to know and love, this year we'll have some wonderful first-time artists and some off-island artists participating, including Don Moser and Robert Gruppe of New England.  Both men have painted in the area on and off for years, and should be exciting additions for collectors.

The finished paintings will be hung for viewing pleasure until 6 pm, when they will be auctioned off. Tickets to view the paintings and to attend the auction can be purchased at the Chamber of Commerce.  That's also a good place to pick up maps showing the painting location of the artists.   

I'll be painting at the Esplanade since it's my usual day to work and my partners are all participating or working elsewhere.  I've been looking around for just the right scene.  We'll see what light the day will bring and what will capture my imagination.

I really hope to see you at the auction.  Tickets are only $35, and will be well worth the viewing even if you are not in the market for a painting.  There will be some terrific paintings and some may go for bargain prices.  In any case you are supporting scholarships for Marco students, and should have a lot of fun besides!

Reception, ArtQuest, Mangrove painting by Everglades artist JoAnn Sanborn

Mangrove

20x24

acrylic on canvas

Good Morning. Enjoyed a wonderful reception at the Marco Island Center for the Arts last night for artist Diane Eiler. Diane shares my love of the Everglades landscape. She's raised three boys with a lot of Everglades activities and camping, so is quite familiar with the back country. She'll be teaching a three week class this summer, so if you're interested, call the Art League and sign up soon!

It was delightful to see such a nice crowd for this time of year, with a great group of people in "Save the Art League" mode. Giving the board permission to list and sell the extra lot was a tough decision. Questions and suggestions brought out how much this difficult economy has affected the Center, and that the board had reviewed other options, had a plan, and needed to get this done. The vote by members passed with a large majority.

The board of the Marco Island Foundation for the Arts had to make the tough financial decision that ArtQuest 2010 would have to be postponed. There's a nice article about that announcement in today's Marco Island Eagle. It's too bad that in a difficult economy art is one of the first things to take a hit. ArtQuest would have been great family fun at no cost. We'll just look forward to the future!

We had a light dinner with a group of artists after the reception last night, and I was very pleased to hear how I've inspired photographer Jack Megala. He told me that when he first saw my paintings he didn't understand where the color came from, but seeing my work and spending time in the Everglades over several years he now sees the depth of color and season. His photographs are superior, the more so because he uses a film and a large format camera, so he has to catch all his colors on film rather than use an enhancement program. He's waited hours for a small cloud to move just into the right position for the reflection to be perfect!