PLEIN AIR II

We drove into Sister Bay at 3:30 this afternoon, just in time to hear a portion of this afternoon's concert at the gazebo. We hustled back just as fast and directly as we possibly could in order to make it back for the Plein Air Festival. Lo-and-BEHOLD(!!) the mid-week paint off was scheduled for this evening!! Right here in Sister Bay!!! Our entire waterfront, marina & park were the backdrop for the 40 featured artists and dozens and dozens of others in the mood to capture the setting. The weather was perfect: a lovely breeze, great clouds, perfect temperature.

Meet Keary Kautzer, one of the few water colorists of the featured crew -- the vast majority work in oil. It is so inspiring to see the work from empty canvas and as it develops over the course of the evening. I saw him add the sail masts, but forgot to take a picture of that development. He painted them in against a ruler -- as an experiment that we both decided worked well. The seriously great part of the festival is that by & large the artists are very approachable, nearly giving a master-class as they paint. Most seem genuinely delighted to interact as they work, answering questions as they go.