I cannot quite believe it but I am falling in love with the plein air event scene. The other painters are so kind and effusively joyful. They are competitive AND supportive! It is so exciting to meet all the onlookers and talk to the children and people who I otherwise would not get to meet.
It was a Joy to go back to my home town to paint! What an amazing city...
West Bend is so cool. The
West Bend Historic Society Building is incredibly beautiful! And I thank the
League of Milwaukee Painters , the judges and
Epic Creative and all the sponsors for all they did to coordinate te event.
I am so "chuffed" I won the best of show ($2000. award) and second place for my market painting ($250.) . The paintings are for sale until Aug. 22 at the Historic Society if you want to see them.
To the young family who is in my Regner Park painting....please contact me I have some news for you!
My iphone 4 doesn't take great pics but here are the paintings!
" Quiet Morning 2" oil on linen 16"x 20" Won Best of Show! I stood on this site for about 6 hours painting. I loved looking at every window and detail ...I could find my way around town from the new Museum to the Historic Society and library to the theater and back over the white bridge.
The "Books" truck is about the size of 1/2 my pinky fingernail in the painting and a big SHOUT OUT to the people up on the orange cherry picker assessing the brick of the old theater!
Not a great photo but this little bridge was the link over the river that connected the new to the old!
Here I am with founder of
Epic Creative. Thank you for sponsoring the $2000. best of show award!
Dad and Mom still live in town and stopped by while I was painting. Thank you dad for bringing me the Tennies Ace Hardware hat! Thank you mom for the cold water and for cheering me on!
Nearly done at this point...the light effect has now reversed but I used the Museum as my benchmark for light and shadow.... 16 x 20 doesn't seem that big in these photos but it is a lot of ground to cover for these events.
Here is my morning "quick paint" at the market. The remarkable thing is, the woman pictured with me below, grew all these vegetables with her husband and they bring them market every week! I filled with gratitude to them for their labor and the beauty of their produce.
Here is my very colorful 16" x 12" "I wish everyone could have a day like this" painting of Regner Park Lagoon.
If the little family pictured here in the painting sees this please contact me! I would like to tell you something! Here is my email: handzlib@uww.edu
The day I was painting this a young boy in an orange suit top came up to me and asked if he was in the painting....I said no but you will be...and I placed this orange dot where he and his sister would be. Thank you to him for his enthusiasm and all the joyful music of children splashing and chasing that breezy day!
Big Thank you to Dad and Mom for all your help! It was great to be in West Bend to paint!
