~~This time of the year, with Plein Air Easton just ahead, I think about how much the Festival means to so many. To hundreds of talented and hopeful plein air painters across the nation, Plein Air Easton represents the prospect of spending time on the unique and exquisite Eastern Shore, painting its beautiful waterways, boats, breathtaking landscapes and historic properties. It also means experiencing the warmth of a very welcoming and enthusiastic community. The celebrity status enjoyed by the juried artists is well deserved as they are the centerpiece of the festival.

To The Avalon Foundation, organizers of it all, Plein Air Easton means a frenzy of activity and the management of hundreds of volunteers and multiple organizations essential to the success of an event of this magnitude. Attending their monthly steering committee meetings reveals an interesting mix of hard-nosed seriousness with a generous dappling of humor from the devoted Avalon staff. This approach is undoubtedly the secret to their success. If you wonder what I mean, take a look at the videos they produce. They’re very informative, rich with content and delightfully quirky which quickly grabs your interest while they feed you the info you need to know about PAE. For The Avalon Foundation, PAE means carrying on their mission of improving the lives of thousands of area residents.

The business community readies themselves for a deluge of visitors, increased sales and lots of traffic jams. Since the week of Plein Air Easton is usually during the hottest of the year, visitors are often looking for a place to retreat from the heat and oppressive humidity. Shops and restaurants offer a cool respite from the heat and merchants have filled their shelves with enticing inventory, sure to appeal to Plein Air Easton enthusiasts.

Plein Air Easton means its “Show Time” for The Working Artists Forum. The WAF is an organization consisting of painters working in one or more mediums. Professional expertise of its membership is fostered through programs, group critiques, demonstrations, workshops, and member exhibitions. Pro bono work by the membership for the community is encouraged. The Forum sponsors the prestigious Local Color Art Show & Sale annually in conjunction with The Avalon Foundation. The show has been in existence since the beginning of Plein Air Easton, 10 years ago. The juried and judged art show, held on Friday - Sunday (July 18-20) in The Crystal Room at The Tidewater Inn, displays some of the best artwork by artists from across the Delmarva Peninsula. Hundreds of visitors peruse the exhibition for just the right piece of artwork to add to their their collections. The organization also provides an educational component to the Plein Air Festival in the form of five free educational events for the benefit of artists and the general public. These art demonstrations, located in The Rose Room at The Tidewater Inn, are presented by five of the winning plein air artists from the previous year’s Plein Air Easton Competition. Art demonstrations by Garin Baker, Nancy Tankersley, Robert Barber, Ken DeWaard and Charlie Hunter are sure to intrigue artists and enthusiasts during Local Color. There is an exciting development in our demos. I’ll be sharing that information with you in just a few days. The show and demo schedules are listed on the PAE calendar online at www.pleinaireaston.com.

This year’s Local Color Show is especially meaningful to members of The Working Artists Forum. The show is dedicated to the memory of member/artist Marianne Hollis, early visionary and chairman for many years of Local Color. Marianne’s years of dedicated leadership was instrumental in elevating Local Color to the fine art show it is today. In Marianne’s honor, this year an award of $200 has been added. The Working Artists Forum assigns a portion of the proceeds from Local Color to help support local school art programs in the form of multiple gift certificates each year to elementary schools (for the art teacher/teachers) in five Eastern Shore counties on a rotating basis. To learn more about The Working Artists Forum check out the website:
http://www.workingartistsforum.com.

They say that Plein Air Easton has grown to be the finest event of its kind in the country. It isn’t surprising considering that the community and artists poor their hearts and souls into the project. Residents and visitors alike can revel for days in all that the Festival has to offer. Plein Air Easton means so much to so many. Soon all will be ready for POE - “Painters Occupy Easton”! Ooops! I meant to say PAE, Plein Air Easton! I hope to see you there!