Plein Air Butler

We had perfect weather and a great turn-out this morning for the first plein air of the fall season at Frank Butler Park West.  There were about 13-14 members who turned up to paint, new folks and old, and even a guest who painted a lovely oil.

We got to see our FCPS mascot, Maggie, though were saddened to learn that her owner, Steve, has moved many hours away from us now. However Steve will now be able to really concentrate on his art and we wish him lots of luck with that!

It was great to see folks and get to hear some stories about summer adventures.

It was a clear sunny day. The sun was a bit warm, but a light breeze, low humidity, and no bugs all made  for a good morning. There were enough sand spurs that we had to watch our footing though! Some folks braved sunny locations but many folks found shady spots to paint from.

As we usually do we broke in late morning, and shared lunch and snacks, and a show-and-tell. Here are some examples of the morning in various states of completion.

And don't forget our exciting demo with Kevin Arthur at our upcoming November meeting!

Plein Air - Frank Butler West

What:   First fall plein air
Where: Frank Butler County Park West
When:  Saturday, Oct. 1, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

It's time again for plein air to start. Summer doesn't seem to want to let go but Saturday forecast right now shows a high of 80 degrees and a mixture of sun and clouds, so if the forecast holds that's not too bad.

Our venue is Frank Butler County Park West on the bank of the Matanzas River. It's easy to find. Just take St, Johns County route 206 out to A1A, head north, and the park will be on your left.

There are plenty of views and spots to set up along the river itself, or smaller streams leading into the river. Plenty of water and open sky.

The park also has a boat ramp. If the weather is as predicted there are likely to be plenty of boaters there also, so please be mindful of that when you park, and when you choose your plein air setups.

There are also small ponds, often with birds and wildlife, along the roadway leading into the park itself. Also, of course, restrooms, as well as covered picnic pavilions.

So come with your pastels, hats, sunscreen, bug spray, water, and don't forget to pack a lunch so we can all eat together and have a show and tell for those so inclined.

And don't forget to put out next general meeting, November 5th, on your calendar. Our own Kevin Arthur, an excellent portrait artist, will be doing a demo for us. More details to follow.

It was a busy summer

It was fun to kick off a new season with FCPS - our first general meeting with our new President, Cindy Pierson. We all look forward to working with Cindy in the coming year.

Members all brought in works from their summer vacation. It was a wonderful variety of subjects and styles, with some members trying out different subjects from their usual, and doing a wonderful job with them!

We had about 25 members in attendance which is a great turnout. We had a brief business meeting and got to hear about possible workshops and events for the coming year. We still hope to hold a fall Member Show if we can find a venue.

Our FCPS book and DVD library was on display as well - only $2 for a two-month rental! Several members took advantage of this and rented items.

After the business meeting Cindy went around the room displaying the various works members had brought in.

Some folks had already begun removing their works from the easels before I got around to taking photographs so I'm sorry  for those folks whose work is not pictured here, but here is a sample of all the works done over the summer so you can see the variety.

Summer is Ending!

What:    Fall Kickoff meeting
Where:  Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach
When:   Saturday September 10, 10 AM to 12 noon

Did you feel that breath of cool air this morning? It was in the upper 60s when I took my dog out early. Summer is not done with us yet but there is a hint of change in the air.

So come join us this Saturday at the Ponte Vedra Cultural Center for our kickoff meeting of the season. Our theme is "What I Did on my Summer Vacation".

Please bring some of the paintings that you worked on this past summer. We will have a "Show & Tell" discussion and you may ask for suggestions or comments if you like. We have our fall member show coming up so this is a great way to tune up your work for the show.

Keep in mind our first plein air outing is on the calendar too. Saturday, October 1st. 1st plein air day will be held at Butler Park West, in Crescent Beach. 9:00 -1:00 More details to follow in the blog but get it on your calendar now. See you Saturday.

Our Rental Library

We all need to find new sources of inspiration at times. We can find it from one another, or in painting new subjects, or at different locations. We can find it from workshops. However we also can find it from books or DVDs from noted artists, which is one reason we offer our Rental Library where books or DVDs can be rented for a modest $2 for a 2-month period. Any proceeds will fund new purchases.

But if people don't return their rentals in a timely manner it doesn't help the library grow, or help others who may want to use that resource. Some of our rentals have been floating around out there for quite a while now. Was it so long ago you forgot about it? Now is the time to look around to bring your rentals back for the September meeting, during our amnesty period. After that we will need to implement a new library policy as follows:

The charge for borrowing library materials is $2.00 per item for a period of 2 months.

If no one is waiting materials may be renewed for another 2 month period for an additional $2.00 charge per item. Check out will be limited to the original 2 month period if someone is waiting for a particular title.

Materials must be returned after 4 months of consecutive check out. Failure to return materials after 4 months will result in continuing charges of $2.00 per month until the items are returned.

Failure to return items will result in a replacement charge to cover the cost of repurchase.

Unpaid replacement charges or fines will be added to the cost of membership renewal.

So if you are one of the laggards (and I've been guilty of that in the past!) now is the time to find that material to bring back in the fall. In the meantime feel free to use it to help you have a wonderful productive summer.

Karen Margulis Workshop

The First Coast Pastel Society was thrilled to be able to have Karen Margulis as the judge for our spring show, but even better was the chance to have a mini-workshop with her the following day.

Prior to that however, we had an abbeviated regular FCPS meeting, where members were able to talk with Karen, and look through all the amazing small artwork she brought for sale. Some pieces were only 2 1/2 x 3 inches! And yet she captured such feeling in them. What a treat to own one of her paintings, regardless of size.

It was a bittersweet meeting too, as our founder Lyn Asselta introduced Karen to us all, in her last official act as President. Lyn has been such an amazing driving force for our group since it was founded in January 2012. Just about all that we have accomplished we owe to her. At least she will still be around in other capacities for the group, and we look forward to moving forward with our new President, Cindy Pierson. We look forward to working with Cindy as the year progresses!

After the meeting those who had signed up for it stayed on to participate in Karen's "Painting Sky and Clouds" workshop - a whirlwind four hours.

Since the workshop was short Karen worked fast to try to cover as much ground as possible.

The skies are lovely in all of her paintings, so it was fascinating to hear her talk about her own learning experiences in painting the sky, and doing demos showing all the colors that occur in the sky.

Those who attended felt that a lot of ground was covered, and some of the participants are even doing Karen's challenge of "21 skies in 21 days".

If you have not seen the show at Ponte Vedra you should see it, and if you have you should see it again! It's summer now, just one last thing to do. Please notice the take-down date has changed.

The take down is Saturday July 16, from 10:00am - 2:00pm

Then enjoy the summer, and paint. See you in September!