Plein Air Painting on the Parkway
The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on August 9, 2008.
It was a perfect day for Plein Air (painting outdoors) after several days of rain. Floyd artists Marsha Slopey Paulekas and Joli Ayn Wood set up along the Blue Ridge Parkway to enjoy the free expression practice made popular by the French Impressionists and others.
“My parents were both artists, so I’ve painted all my life, said Paulekas, who was painting a farmer’s field. “After 60 years, I’ve finally found a place in my life where I’m having a lot of fun while I’m painting instead of it always being such a challenge.” She was drawn to the interesting chopped lines of the farm buildings in the distance, and the light and commented that it’s easier to paint now that her children are grown.
Both painters agreed that their paintings were in the early stages. Wood, whose parents were musicians, was painting a scene that included Paulekas and Paulekas’s vintage car. “It’s at the stage where it’s a puzzle and I just have to keep going,” she said. “Come back when they look better!” Paulekas joked.
September 9th, 2018 11:17 pm
It’s fun to watch plein-air painters at work. One time we stumbled on a group of them painting the same waterfall from different angles and places — it was some kind of festival… and very interesting to see how each painter saw things differently.