Idyllwild Plein Air Paint Out 2010

"Morning Light" 9 x 12 by Terry d. Chacon

Idyllwild 2010 Plein Air Paint Out. Idyllwild CA My artist friend Louise Smith and I drove up very early Sat. morning to check in to the paint out at 8 am. As we waited in line we ran into other PAAR artist Joan Coffey and Geeta Paatanaik. It's always fun to see friends when you arrive at an event.

We checked in, refreshed our coffee, went to the little girls room and headed down to the creek. This is my 3rd time attending this event. The first one was in 2004. We have always had such a good time and this place is a wonderful place to paint. Paintings in all directions. This year I wanted to paint something different than the downtown area.

We hiked down to the creek carrying our gear and headed under the bridge. The light was fabulous as it came down the creek with one side in full shadow and sunlight on the water in the foreground and back up part of the left side. I also loved the beautiful colors in the pond that was nearest to me before the rock formation. We quickly set up and started painting. It did not seem that cold at first but then the clouds moved in. Luckily I had my first couple of layers on so I set the mood for the painting. As the clouds moved in it became like a freezer under the bridge. We would paint a little then walk out into the sun when it would come out. We later heard that it was 38 degrees that morning, so we felt lucky it was a lot warmer.

Terry painting under the bridge. We were hoping that there would not be a flash flood, look at the water flowing by.

We finished our paintings, framed them and stopped for a nice lunch at one of the many cute downtown restaurants. What a treat. Thank you Louise for a very nice birthday lunch. We then headed out to Quiet Creek Inn where the paintings would be hung in their gallery and ready for judging and a reception the following day. http://www.quietcreekinn.com/

Day 2. My brother and sister n law are here and my brother has a new car. A Chevy Camaro. Quite a beautiful little sporty car. It would have it that they were going golfing and needed a larger vehicle so we got to use the sporty car for our trip to Idyllwild for the Artist Reception and Awards ceremony. How great was this. Joan Coffey, Louise and I set out around 10 am and arrived at the reception just in time for Mimosa's and some goodies to nibble on. I left the gallery to go outside and upon my return I saw a red dot on my title card of my painting.

Terry with sold painting.

How wonderful my painting had sold. I then was introduced to the buyers Dr. and Mrs. Kern of Idyllwild. They were so pleased to have purchased the piece and so was it to know it was very much appreciated and they would be giving it a good home.

Terry, new collector Dr. Kern with winning ribbon.

Later the awards started and first name called for an honorable mention was my traveling companion and good friend Louise Smith. I told her she has a wonderful painting and now she believed it! A few more names were called and then my name was called for 3rd place. I was so excited to have won an award in this fabulous event. Artist came from San Diego, Palm Springs, Riverside, Los Angeles to name a few spots. To place amongst such great works was really a treat. I am sorry I did not get a good photo of the painting. By the time I realized it was sold, I quickly tried to get the photo above. I don't think it came out to the true colors of the painting. It had more magenta in it than the blues that are showing.

We went out to lunch to celebrate the wins and to celebrate my birthday, thank you Joan for treating that was really great.

Joan Coffey, Terry d. Chacon and Louise Smith

We then traveled home and now I am getting ready for our trip to the US OPEN at Pebble Beach. Painting gear is in the car and I hope to paint the Monterey Peninsula while there.

What a great weekend with great artist friends and new acquaintances that I hope to see again and real soon.

Until Next Time, PLEASE ENJOY THE ART! Terry d. Chacon