San Angelo, TX
San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, October 22-29
Christopher Leeper, Bus Burlesque, oil.
This story was featured in the October 2017 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art October 2017 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
In the early 1900s, the call of the Southwest brought artists to its deserts in droves. The love of the natural landscape birthed groups of like-minded painters including the Texas Artists Camp in tiny Christoval, TX, just south of San Angelo. En Plein Air Texas continues to foster that passionate plein-air community today. Now in its fourth year, the event returns to the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts to host 34 plein-air artists from around the world for a full week of creativity and fun. Artists hailing from 18 states, as well as Nova Scotia and Italy, arrive in San Angelo with their tools and talent to paint everything from landscapes to western scenes across the city. Barbara Rallo, coordinator of the event, says this year they hope to continue educating the community about plein-air painting.
-
- Jill Basham, The Garland of Texas, oil.
-
- Shelby Keefe, Windmill Bouquet, oil.
-
- Mary Pettis, The Lady’s Society, oil.
The week begins on Sunday, October 22, with a paint-out from 4 to 7 p.m., where artists set up near the museum to begin working in oils, watercolors, and acrylics. Throughout the week, artists have the opportunity to paint at several private ranches in the area and at the International Waterlily Collection, which has become a favorite subject over the years. Painters also draw inspiration from various neighborhoods around the city including downtown San Angelo, the cultural district, industrial areas, the Santa Rita neighborhood, and Angelo State University.
Each year organizers invite four winning artists from the previous year to return. This year those artists are Jason Sacran, Patrick Saunders, Shelby Keefe, and Jill Basham. Kenn Backhaus juried the remaining artists into the event. Renowned oil painter Roger Dale Brown judges the work at the end of the week for awards, including the grand-prize Elta Joyce Murphey Award.
A new event added this year is the Rope Yourself a Painting Day, where artists set up their easels in the stands for the 64th annual San Angelo Roping Fiesta on Saturday, October 28. “There are about 100 chances for them to keep watching the same thing so that they can get everything sketched during the moment,” Rallo says. “It’s a whole different look than what we have had before, but it is very authentic to West Texas, which is something we wanted to have this year.” She says she is excited to see the action-filled pieces artists come up with during the experience. “Several artists have painted horses before, so it will be up their alley, but in a very different way,” she says.
-
- Jason Sacran, Strip Day, oil.
-
- Richard Sneary, Milk Barns, watercolor.
-
- Carl Bretzke, King of the Hill, oil.
Fresh paintings are up for sale throughout the week. Each artist submits two paintings on Friday morning for the awards competition. Get your first look at those pieces on Friday night during the Art Collectors Stampede Awards Party. The final day to purchase paintings is Sunday, October 29, when over 200 paintings are displayed in the historic Quartermaster Building at Fort Concho. Sales from the event benefit the museum’s education program. —Mackenzie McCreary
contact information
325.656.2500
www.enpleinairtexas.com
This story was featured in the October 2017 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art October 2017 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
MORE RESOURCES FOR ART COLLECTORS & ENTHUSIASTS
• Subscribe to Southwest Art magazine
• Learn how to paint & how to draw with downloads, books, videos & more from North Light Shop
• Sign up for your Southwest Art email newsletter & download a FREE ebook