LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk 47 Lake that regularly sends some 80 paintings on to new homes. These events are for the artists, many of whom travel the country attending different festivals, as well as art collectors and spectators. And they bring visitors to the communities that host them. The Keeseville, Malone and Tupper Lake festivals were all modeled after the Saranac Lake event and have no trouble attracting artists who want to paint the Adirondack landscapes, from the High Peaks, to the foothills, from mountain lakes to the river valleys. Ticonderoga has their own history of hosting the Ad- irondack Harvest Festival in September. The Publisher's Invitational Adirondack Paint Week and the Fall Color Week event are entirely different. They were organized by Plein Air Magazine, a direct result of the fact that the publisher has a second home in the Adirondacks. They are more like summer camps for artists. Both are set up to host 100+ artists who come simply for a week of painting and camaraderie. For the June event artists will be housed in the dorms at Paul Smiths College. For the Fall Color week, they will be at the Saranac Village Young Life facility. There is no competition, no prizes, no exhibits - just artists going out in small groups to explore and paint. Many of the artists at- tend year after year, just to enjoy painting our won- derful views. All are welcome! Spectators are welcome at all the plein air festivals and most will have schedules or specific locations where the artists can be found, at least some of the time. Watching a painting take place, right before your eyes, can be a really meaningful experience. The exhibits, however, attract the most attention. Imagine what it's like to attend an exhibit where all of the paintings have been created in the 2-5 days prior! The paint is often still wet! Forty artists can frequently do at least 2 paintings a day, for 5 days, resulting in a show of some 400+ paintings. Large, small, oil, watercolor, acrylic, pastels, in a full range of subject matter. And yet they will all be unique. Plan a tour to visit our Adirondack Plein Air Festivals and bring a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork home with you. The Festivals may also have secondary events as part of their schedules: meet the artists receptions, silent auctions of donated works, nocturne paintings (done at night), and quick draw competitions. It is best to check the schedules of the individual events. Plan to spend a several days and visit the galleries and studios in our Adirondack communities as well. To learn more about any of these events, visit SaranacLakeArtWorks.org and go to the Plein Air Home page. There is contact information along with the dates, for all of the events mentioned here. If you're an artist, some of the events have registra- tion deadlines, so it's best to check directly with them and do it early in the year. Contact admin@ saranaclakeartworks.org for further information.

• Cover