Watching the light change over the water is the fun part of painting outdoors, or to use the correct term: painting en plein air. It’s also the most difficult aspect.
“It changes so fast,” said Laara Lindo of Sechelt who was down at Gibson’s Landing wharf last Saturday sketching a picturesque scene. She was a participant of the 14th annual International Plein Air Painters (IPAP) Worldwide PaintOut weekend. Plein air artists capture the essence of a landscape or subject by incorporating natural light, colour and movement into their works. The scenes can be realistic or abstract.
Janice Rafael of Sechelt shows her artwork at the Daffadowndilly Gallery in Gibsons. She perched her easel on a finger of the government wharf to capture in paint the sailboat Sorcery and the blue sky beyond. She dabbed a few clouds onto the painting; the actual clouds were already vanishing behind the far mountains and she had to work quickly.
Up at the Visitor Centre in the shadow of the statue of George Gibson, artist Jan Poynter worked on site depicting Molly’s Reach – the subject of hundreds of paintings and tourist photos. Poynter coordinated this year’s Gibson’s Landing plein air weekend as she has done in the past.
It was more low key than previous years, she noted – the 2015 event drew 33 participants locally – but a few artists, some from Vancouver and most from the Sunshine Coast, could be seen at various scenic locations. The IPAP website (IPAP.homestead.com) posts photos of groups and artworks from around the globe and Gibson’s Landing always figures there (although the 2015 group is tagged as coming from Gibbons, B.C.).
As the artists work, they often draw spectators who like to chat. “I’ve found this to be the most supportive community for artists,” Poynter said. Those who stop to talk are genuinely interested in the quality of the work.
“Next year is the big one,” said Poynter. Plein air participants will have use of the Gibsons Public Art Gallery for Sept. 5 to Oct. 1, 2017. They will pay a fee that will include the PaintOut, a three-week exhibition at the gallery, a barbecue and live professional demos, workshops and presentations.
