Canvas-ing the city

Suzie Harrison

Fifty of the top plein air painters in the country will be seen

throughout the city capturing scenes and getting ready for the fifth

annual Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational.

The artists will be about town from Sunday through July 12. The

event is hosted by the Laguna Art Museum and the Laguna Plein Air

Painters Assn.

“It’s a great opportunity to bring people to Laguna Beach to

discover the roots, painting and art that started about 50, 60, 70

years ago, as an art colony started here -- a focal point for plein

air painting,” Laguna Plein Air Painters Assn. board member Ken

Auster said. “What’s happening with this event is that it has brought

attention to that aspect of art -- and the wide variety of

interpretation.”

He explained that plein air painting is not limited to landscapes.

He said it can incorporate city-scapes and figurative work. Basically

it’s anything people want to paint from life while being outdoors.

“It’s grass-roots based in drawing and painting, which are the

fundamentals of all art,” Auster said. “The best part about plein air

painting is that it has created a social environment, as opposed to

working in studios, they paint together.”

Well recognized plein air painter and Laguna local since 1971,

David Solomon said this is the fourth year he’ll be competing.

“I like the fact all the artists are here,” Solomon said. “It’s

actually a chance to see what everyone else is doing and it keeps you

in touch with what’s going on.”

Last year Solomon won a bronze at the invitational for a

watercolor painting he painted of the alley behind his house. As for

his favorite places to paint in Laguna Beach, he said he likes

getting up above town and looking into it.

“I like painting from places where I can be a voyeur,” Solomon

said. “I’ve painted hundreds of paintings in Laguna Beach, a lot of

paintings. I like to paint ordinary scenes, not necessarily picture

perfect.”

Marketing director for Laguna Art Museum, Stuart Byer, said he

believes that the invitational got started between Laguna Art Museum

and Laguna Plein Painters Assn. because both entities celebrate this

traditional form of art.

“The museum being interested in historical art as the heir to the

Laguna Beach Art Assn.,” Byer said. “It’s always been focused on the

history of the city and the artists that had such a big role of

putting it on the map.”

First time participating artist Kevin A. Short from San Juan

Capistrano is looking forward to the event.

“At the orientation our blank canvases will be stamped, so they

officially know we didn’t start before,” Short said. “Since I’m a

local I have been mentally walking around to so many places I want to

paint -- I’ll just wait for the right light or time for it to

happen.”

“One of the most exciting aspects of the event is that it is all

essentially free,” Byer said. “It gives people the opportunity to see

professional painters working and this is quite interesting for most

people.”

On July 11, from 10 a.m. to noon, at Heisler Park is the “Quick

Draw Paint Out,” in which the artists only have two hours to paint a

scene in the park. After completion the art will be judged at the

museum.

Short said he thinks “Quick Draw” competitions are fun.

“You really have little time, you get to see for yourself how

efficient your painting is,” Short said. “It brings out the

individuality of painters all in the same location -- you can see

stark differences, it’s exciting.”

The gala dinner and preview sale is from 6 to 10 p.m. July 12, and

the exhibit and sale will be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 13. To find out

more about tickets and prices for the gala, or other invitational

events call the museum at 494-8971. Laguna Art Museum is at 307 Cliff

Drive.