Show Preview | Plein Air Painters of New Mexico

RRCA Gallery, Ruidoso, NM, May 26-June 29

Nancy Silvia, Day’s End, pastel, 24 x 26.

Each year, the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico hosts a paint-out, exhibition, and sale in a different location around the state that inspires them. This year, for the seventh annual PAPNM Paint-Out and Exhibition, the group paints in and around the town of Ruidoso, NM, from May 20-25. Specific sites include the Hondo Valley, the Mescalero Apache Indian reservation, Billy the Kid Country, and Sierra Blanca.

Approximately 50 members of the group paint en plein air for five days. At the end of the paint-out, each artist picks his or her two best paintings to hang at the Ruidoso Regional Council for the Arts Gallery, located on Main Street. An opening reception is from 5 to 7 p.m. on May 26, and the show and sale remains open to the public through June 29. A Quick Draw is on May 27 from 9 to 11 a.m. in the town of Ruidoso.

Ruidoso is a quaint town located in southern New Mexico. The region has a variety of natural scenery and a rich cultural history, making it a very interesting place to paint, explains Diana Stauffer, the communications chair and past president of PAPNM. Stauffer is also participating in this year’s event. “These venues encompass wildflowers, alpine mountain peaks, old churches and adobe villages, lakes, forests, and streams—lots to inspire!” Stauffer says.

Plein Air Painters of New Mexico is a nonprofit organization of artists dedicated to preserving and promoting painting in the open air. In addition to advancing plein-air painting in the tradition of New Mexico’s renowned early and mid-20th century artists, the group provides opportunities for members to paint together during monthly paint-outs and hosts multiple annual juried and open exhibitions of members’ work. “I think 
PAPNM is a really dynamic organization,” says Stauffer. “Every artist has considerable respect for the legendary, historic painters of New Mexico, and we’re very cognizant of New Mexico’s place in the history of plein-air painting. There’s a freshness to [plein-air painting], and we’re trying to capture that air.” —Lindsay Mitchell

contact information
www.papnm.org

Featured in the June 2012 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase a copy:
Southwest Art magazine June 2012 digital download
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