LOCALadk Magazine

Summer 2018 LOCALadk Magazine 51 LOCALadk three hours, the sun is now in front of you and soon enough the light will be coming in from your right. The shadows are now opposite of how they were in the morning. It took me a few years to figure out a solution for this. Instead of start- ing a painting and applying the light and shadow areas as they appear when I start, I basically tr y to get the land forms roughed in with a thin layer of paint and then once the can- vas is covered, start adding the effects of natural lighting. Plein air painters also learn how to economize their use of time. Not all would agree with me, but I don't take time to sketch first, I start directly by thinning some neutral gray paint and sketching with a brush. Just the basic shapes of the composition I've chosen. Then I work feverishly, painting, looking, painting, looking. I love it! I get into a zone where I feel like I am totally part of the environment surrounding me. No other thoughts in my head, just being as obser vant as possible, smelling the smells, hearing the sounds, feeling the sun and breeze. Sometimes I forget to eat. I work intuitively, allowing my mind to relax and just doing what feels right, relying on my experience and education to guide me. That is not terribly different from how artists work in their stu- dios, except they often take weeks or months to complete a painting. They often stop painting, step back, and study what they've done. Sometimes they may not return until another day. When working outdoors, there's no time for that. Working the way I do is relaxing and fulfilling. After a day of painting I might be sun-burned and have black fly bites, or in winter, have numb toes and fingers, but I feel energized. The third week in August, 50 artists will converge on the Saranac Lake area. These are 50 skilled painters, reviewed and selected by a team of three jurors. Monday, August 13 they will check in at the Adirondack Artists Guild Galler y, 52 Main St, which is event headquarters. As soon as they check in and get their canvases stamped, they may go out and paint. There will be schedules, maps, and directions to the painting locations available there both for the artists and for spectators. Monday evening, from 7 to 9pm, there will be a Meet the Artists reception held on the second-floor terrace of the Hotel Saranac, to which the public is invited. The Ho- tel will also be the site for the Nocturne Contest – paintings produced after sundown. Artists will be encouraged to bring paints and easels and paint downtown Saranac Lake from the street or from the Hotel Terrace. The 2nd day of painting, Tuesday August 14, all the artists are invited out to the Paul Smith's College VIC to paint. This

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