Plein Air Easton: The Next Generation is an outdoor, instructional art event where art educators offer various 45 minute workshops for children grades K-6. Last year’s workshops included pastel painting, plein air painting techniques, creative design skills, and collage. Participants ranged in age from 5 years old to 11 years old. Workshops are designed to meet the needs of different ages, skill levels and attention spans.

WORKSHOPS: Children rotate through any of the educational workshops.  Spaces in the workshops are limited, but a new class will start every 15 minutes and some arts activities will run non-stop all day.  All art supplies will be provided.

$5 registration fee

Registration: 10am

Workshops: 10:30am-2pm

Creating (and Thinking) like an Artist a 60-min Demo for Kids with Tom Lynch, Instructor: Tom Lynch, 2014 Plein Air Easton Competition Artist, Demonstration - Tom Lynch has been referred to as one of the nation’s premier watercolorists.  He has written 7 books and hosted several award winning PBS TV Art Series.  He was recently listed as one of the nation’s top 20 teachers by a leading Art magazine.  Tom Lynch will demonstrate his watercolor expertise while explaining his process to listeners young or young at heart.  He will instruct students on how an artist approaches subject matter. Students will learn techniques using watercolor pencils and may choose to paint along with Mr. Lynch as he gives instruction. There will be an opportunity for a one on one encouragement & critique immediately following the workshop.

Painting with Pastels, Instructor: Susan Horsey, Limit: 10 students, Workshop - Ms. Horsey has been teaching art for over 15 years. She teaches upper school art at The Country School in Easton. She will guide students through creating a composition using oil pastels. Students will paint a still life the subject of which is vegetables. All students will leave the workshop with experience using oil pastels, an orientation into composition and a one of a kind plein air painting of their very own.

“en plein air” Light Theory, Instructor: Amy Queen, Limit: 15 Students, Workshop - Ms. Queen is an artist with a BA in Fine Arts/Graphic Design. She teaches art and Plein Air Oil Painting in private and group sessions to children and adults in North Carolina. In this workshop students will learn about the different types of lighting that can be observed in nature and how to paint it. There will be a short lesson in mixing colors using a limited palette of red, white, blue and yellow. Students will then create a painting using real life subject matter and photographs.

Learning about Atmospheric Perspective, Instructor: Alanna Bergman, Limit: 12 students, Workshop - Ms. Bergman is an art instructor in the ArtReach program for the Academy Arts Museum. She will give an explanation of atmospheric perspective to students. Participants will then make collage value studies that demonstrate the effect of distant areas appearing lighter and lighter in landscapes or seascapes. Multiple values of watercolor on wide strips of paper will be torn into landform shapes and then glued down in layers.

Sketching Techniques, Instructor: Constance Del Nero, Limit: 12 students, Workshop - Ms. Del Nero is the Director of ArtReach for the Academy Arts Museum. She has a M.Ed in Art Education with a focus on instructing children grades K-8.  Students will learn the basics of sketch art, with a focus on how to sketch trees. Participants will use colored pencils to demonstrate versatility, precision, and  the beauty of layered colors.

Mosaic Mural, Instructors: Nathan Mullen and Mary Anne Luschinski, Ongoing - Nathan Mullen and Mary Anne Luschinski are long time students of professional mosaic artist Jenn Wagner. Participants will use glass, mirror, tile, and beads to create a beautiful mosaic mural to be installed on the Avalon Theatre’s 3rd floor reception space upon completion. Everyone is welcome to cut tesserae, adhere is to the mural and create a piece of community art to be enjoyed by many for years to come.

Intro to Complementary Colors with Tie-Dye, Instructor: Amanda Priestley, Ongoing - Ms. Priestley is a teacher at Wye River Upper School and teaches a tie-dye class at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis, MD. Students will receive instruction about the color wheel and which colors blend well. Students will receive a white fabric square and will learn different folding/tying techniques. Each child will take their tie-dye fabric home in a ziplock bag with care instructions.

Chalk on the Block Easton, Instructors: Sarah Kilmon and Ellie Kilmon, Ongoing - Sarah and Ellie Kilmon are honors arts students and multi-year artist assistants. Participants will create a large chalk drawing on the streets of Easton. A basic outline of a design will be drawn ahead of time, so children can fill in pre-drawn objects or create their own.

The Beauty of Street Art and Self Expression, Instructor: Bethany Corbin, Ongoing - Bethany Corbin has participated in multiple community art projects and is an honors art student. She worked as a teacher’s aide at Easton High School during her senior year. Students will learn about famous street artists and view their work. They will focus on an emotion and use street art techniques, such as stencils and paint to express themselves and create a poster that will have great meaning to them.