It’s not always easy to get to the premier location to take the shot. So it’s another predawn slog up a mountainside, I’m a human pack mule, hauling all my camera gear, lenses, tripod, and water (which weighs two pounds per quart, just to add to the burden) up to the killer photo spot. Panting, sweating and finally reaching the summit, what do I find? Dammit! Someone else is already here. Who is this guy? Some “photographer” with an iPhone?
No, he’s a painter, one of those plein-air people, landscape painters who paint in the open air. From the looks of his setup he’s hauled even more stuff up the mountainside than I did. He’s got a big easel, canvases, brushes, paint, water (for himself and for cleaning up), paper towels, mineral spirits and a wet-painting carrier to carry his completed paintings back down the mountain. Okay, I’m impressed, he’s brought more stuff than me, he wins Pack Mule of the Day. Photographers aren’t the only ones who “travel heavy.”
After a brief greeting, I set up my tripod and camera about twenty feet away from him (a respectful distance and not directly in front of the guy, like some other boneheads would). I shot my photos, he painted his paintings, and a few hours went by. The sun rose high in the sky, the pretty morning light was gone, we’d both got our pictures and so with our work done we chatted for a while.
While I was there shooting landscapes for myself, he was painting for a competition. A local arts organization was sponsoring a Plein-Air Festival, and he was one of the participating artists. He was tasked to go out in nature, paint some landscapes, submit them to a jury at the sponsoring gallery, and hope his work is selected for exhibit. Since talking with him that morning I’ve learned that there are a lot of plein-air festivals, exhibitions and shows every year, all over the country, and there are probably as many plein-air painters as landscape photographers — that’s a lot!
The festival
The 5th Annual Prescott Plein-Air Festival, sponsored by Yavapai College, kicked off with an advance exhibit at the Yavapai College Art Gallery showcasing some of last year’s artwork, as well as a special exhibit of works by festival judges and award-winning artists Bill Cramer and Dawn Sutherland. The show also featured a charity auction of signature paintings. Sale proceeds from the auction support scholarships, student-art prizes at the college, and festival awards; donated paintings not sold became part of the YC permanent collection.
This year's festival featured 19 artists painting across picturesque Yavapai County, including Sharlot Hall Museum and Goldwater Lake. One of the festival highlights was the opportunity for the public to engage with artists, watching as they brought landscapes to life.
For the past four years I’ve worked with Plein-Air Festival founder Janet Humphry to photograph the painters. Janet started the festival in 2018, and the early sponsors were the Highlands Center for Natural History and Touchmark. Last year Yavapai College became a sponsor and provided its gallery as the venue. Other sponsors include the Prescott Office of Tourism, which provided a grant, El Gato Azul both sponsoring and catering the reception, ROX Media and Prescott Woman magazine for promotion, The County Seat sponsoring the happy hour, Rummel Eye Care with a monetary donation and Allegra providing marketing assistance. Painters invited from out of town received comped rooms at the Residence Inn.
The festival began on October 9 with an informal breakfast and check-in at the Yavapai College Art Gallery, followed by happy hour the next evening. Painting began at Sharlot Hall Museum on Friday the 11th.
One great thing about working with plein-air painters is that they’re sensitive to light, so they’re out at sunrise just like me. At Sharlot Hall Museum I could position myself behind the painter and photograph the artwork and the subject in the same shot. It really is amazing to watch the landscape in front of the artist slowly take form on the canvas. It’s the same landscape we’re all looking at, yet it’s different as a painting; watching the artists, we can compare the real thing to their interpretations, seeing the landscape through their eyes.
On Saturday October 12 I stalked the artists around Goldwater Lake, capturing their process. I found myself captivated by the transformation of a blank canvas into a vivid representation of the landscape. Watching Tom Conner fill his canvas with the shimmering beauty of the lake was a lesson in patience and skill.
That afternoon everyone had to deliver their paintings to the gallery for hanging, ready for the Sunday Gala Exhibition Reception. The reception exhibit is only up for one day, encouraging patrons to purchase the freshly painted artworks and enjoy a variety of tasty food by El Gato Azul. The exhibition concludes with the awards, including a People’s Choice award selected that day. The Best of Show winner won $1,000 and a solo exhibition at the Yavapai College Patty McMullen-Mikles Gallery in Clarkdale.
Next fall be on the lookout for an invasion of painters, because the festival is growing every year. In the future more out-of-town artists will be invited to participate, and Art in the Pines is on its way to becoming a national event. The sixth annual festival will take place in October 2025.
