Bridge Street and the locale surrounding the Waitsfield covered bridge are the focus of the art community on Saturday, July 10 as artists and art aficionados gather to celebrate PAINTING THE GREAT OUTDOORS. The first plein-aire paint-out to be held in the Mad River Valley is one of the premier events of the Festival of the Great Outdoors.

A paint-out is a great opportunity to observe various artists at work on location and to purchase an original piece of art. Artists begin painting in areas surrounding the Waitsfield covered bridge at 9:00 on Saturday morning and continue painting throughout the day. A map to the artists’ locations is posted on the porch of the Bridge Street Emporium and Gallery where a showing and sale of the completed paintings takes place at 3:00 in the afternoon. The paint-out is open to all artists and mediums. Simply show up and register your painting location on the map.

The paint-out is hosted by Candy Barr and Gary Eckhart and is co sponsored by Moosewalk Studios and The Bridge Street Emporium and Gallery.  Painting takes place from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Saturday, July 10 with a rain date of Saturday, July 17.

The entire mad River Valley is gearing up for the annual Warren 4th of July Parade – a parade unlike any parade anywhere! This is an event that has to be seen to be believed. Tiny little old Warren, barely a half mile long and with less than a thousand people opens its streets and walkways to more than 10,000 visitors to watch the politics, funk and art that is called a parade.

The Vermont Festival of the Arts (of which Moosewalk is a huge part) will be participating again this year with a float promoting the upcoming 2010 Lucky 13th Festival. In fact, the float is being built in our garage and will be moved into parade position about 7:00 am on the morning of the 4th. We always get there early so we can be first in line since the parade lineup is first-come-first in line. That way we get to watch all the fun of the remainder of the parade. Yeah! And fun it is!

The parade stats at 10:00 am or thereabouts – it depends on when they can get the cannon to fire. Get there early and plan on a walk to get into town. There are parking lots at Sugarbush and other locations along the highway where you can get busses into town, but, whatever you do, don’t plan on parking in town – vehicles are a no-no after 8:30 am

The parade usually last about 1 1/2 hours and then the party begins with dancing on the street in front of the Warren Store.

Will Moosewalk Studios and Gallery be open for business on the 4th of July – get serious! Miss the parade? No way!

Roarke adds finishing touches to the new gallery

The new Moosewalk Studios and Gallery opened to the public this morning after a preview gathering of friends last evening. The four week renovation and expansion by the crew from Turtle Creek Builders brought a comfortable, pristine setting to display the art of the five artists currently showing in  the gallery.

Included in the renovation are a new wood floor, enhanced lighting, air conditioning (for comfort and to control the humidity that can have an impact on the art papers) and a reconfigured office area.

The studio and gallery are open Saturday and Sunday for the Vermont Open Studio Weekend from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Our normal summer hours Thursday thru Monday (noon to 5:00 pm) resume June 1. Tuesday and Wednesday are by appointment only.

A new tile entry to Moosewalk Studios and Gallery takes shape through the very capable hands of Ian, our expert tile layer as art work begins to reappear on the newly painted walls. Once the tile is grouted and sealed the wooden floor covering the remainder of the floor will be laid. All should be ready for the grand re-opening of the gallery and studios on May 28.

‘Plein air’ is a French term used by painters to describe painting done outside on location instead of in the studio. There were, and still are, many painters who prefer to work outdoors claiming that the color of natural light is often more inspiring that that of indoor light. Other artists tend to never venture outside to paint, relying on sketches or photographs brought back to the studio. As an artist, I have done both; but, quite frankly, I prefer to work indoors using onsite sketches with numerous photographs as research for my material source. I find the constant change of light and varying weather conditions (as well as the oft interested visitor) of the outdoors are too much of a distraction for me when I am painting.

Seldom do I ever recreate a scene as it exists anyway. Reproducing a photograph is not my idea of creating art – a photographer does a much better job. I enjoy moving subjects around in a composition, often changing colors, deleting objects or adding objects that never existed in the original scene, to create a more interesting composition. Working in the studio from numerous references allows me to do this without being tied to the original subject material.

Technique is also a determining factor of plein air or not. My painting technique is such that I need the controlled conditions of the studio with consistent light and the ability to control drying time. I also enjoy being able to control the flow of my paint by easily controlling the slant of my board.

I would be interested in hearing others’ views on this.

Today marks the finish of the major construction (and dirt) here at Moosewalk Studios and Gallery. Chris, our talented carpenter, installed the door leading into the storage/framing area to complete the work.

The new lighting is installed and ready to be fired up with the installation of new halogen lights. We would love to use more energy efficient fluorescent lamps, but there is still not a fluorescent bulb that gives off a color of light that works for lighting art.

Our next step is to install the hickory flooring and laying the tile in the entry.

The door into the work area is the final piece of the construction

Work progresses steadily here at Moosewalk Studios and Gallery and paint is now starting to appear on the walls. We are constantly asked for the name of the color we use for the gallery walls. Actually, you can’t find this color on any color chart as it was custom mixed for us by our local paint store. The color is a combination of gray, green, brown and gold giving a very warm, neutral tone to the walls that works great with the art.

Paint begins to appear on the walls

The new walls are growing here at Moosewalk Studios and Gallery. Today we can begin to see the shape of the new gallery space as Chris, our talented carpenter from Turtle Creek builders, works at installing the wall board.  This is a time consuming task that definitely requires the hands of a skilled craftsman.

The additional 12 feet of wall space will allow us to display art work without crowding. This provides for much better viewing of the work.

While all of this construction is going on, we are busy creating new art. Roarke has some exciting new approaches to his photography and Gary is working diligently at the watercolors.

Once the walls are all in place, painting can begin.

Look for more postings as work progresses

Chris creates the new walls

Gary’s painting TALES I COULD TELL made the journey to Moorehead, ND this past week to become one of the selected works for the 2010 National Juried Show of the Red River Watercolor Society. This year’s show will open on April 20 at the Hjemkomst Center Gallery in Moorehead and run until June 19. The painting was selected by Judi Betts, juror for the show. Judi Betts is nationally known for her watercolors and is a signature member of both the American and the National Watercolor Societies.

This is the 2nd major, national show to accept this particular painting. Last summer TALES I COULD TELL was one of the 100 (out of 800) watercolors selected for

Tales I Could Tell

the Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors. The painting will be on display at Moosewalk Studios and Gallery when it returns in early July.

The new gallery and studio space begins to take shape!

Chris, the talented carpenter from Turtle Creek Builders, is busy framing in the new walls for the expanded display space in the gallery here at Moosewalk. An additional 50 square feet of floor space does not sound like much but it makes a world of difference to the size of the display area.

Next to happen is the installation of the new lighting and the wallboard. This should be complete by Friday (4-16).

Chris, of Turtle Creek Builders, frames up new walls.