Wekiva Paintout – Analog Artist Digital World

At the end of February and the first week of March, 29 artists created plein air paintings at the Wekiva Island Paint Out. I went on the evening of a night paint out to watch the artists at work. Wekiva Island (1014 Miami Springs Dr, Longwood, FL 32779), has a a bar called the Tooting Otter. A band was setting up as I arrived inside the bar, and I decided this was a perfect sketch opportunity. Plein air painter Barbara set up her easel between the bar stool I was sitting on and the stage. I sketched the room as she got the easel in place. Since she predominated the scene I included her in the sketch.

Barbara focused on a close up painting of the performers. A game of Jenga was stacked up on the table in front of Barbara. In Jenga, you have to remove a wooden block from the stack, without letting the entire structure fall down. The fiddling and guitar music added to the festive evening. Barbara was a bit distracted. I stopped sketching after the first set and I think she got more work done during the performer’s second set.

I later learned that she was a bit uncomfortable with my being at the bar and sketching. She had the strange notion that I was copying her painting. I really didn’t pay attention to her work in progress. My back was against the bar, so there was no opportunity to back away from her work in progress. We joked about the difficulty of working in a tight space and parted ways on decent terms. I later saw her finished painting in the wet gallery where it hung with all the other paintings completed at the paint out.

My favorite work in the wet gallery was by Elizabeth St. Hilaire who does collages instead of plein air paintings. Her pieces were mostly of palm trees executed with colorful strips of paper. seeing all the variety of work created on the one week was in itself exciting. Outside artists were doing nocturnes of the riverfront. One artist had Christmas lights wrapped all around his easel which acted as his working lights. That was a sketch opportunity, and perhaps Ill catch him at work next year.

On March 5th, I went to the the 7th Annual Wekiva Paintout at Wekiva Landing (1014 Miami Springs Blvd. Longwood, Fl). The paintout is a week long Plein Air painting event with artists from across the country participating. I’m not really a Plein Air painter, I was just there to draw. I walked the property searching for artists at work. I was tempted by a woman painting next to some bright green canoes but to stay in the shade, I would have to sketch her from a distance.

As artists finish their paintings, they hang them in a tent next to the docks. Larry Moore, one of my favorite local artists had one painting on display. One woman did small paintings of turtles on logs. She must go out in a canoe to get such intimate scenes. Now that I think about it, turtles must make good models since they seldom move. I however was hunting for the elusive artist which also stays quit still when painting.

At the corner of the parking area where a stream runs into the Wekiva River, Charles Dickson was painting alongside Cynthia Edmonds. They have been painting in the Wekiva Paintout since its inception. They didn’t mind my sitting down to watch them work. Charles was working on a tiny little canvas observing the tree and river. Cynthia’s canvas was a bit larger with vibrant colors. They both lamented the fact that small paintings take just as much time as large paintings.

As the sun slipped towards the horizon, no-see-ums began coming out in small clouds and nipping at my arms. Darn bugs, this is one reason I’m seldom found painting outdoors in Florida. I lost my shade and was blinded by the white sketchbook page. Cynthia saw my situation and offered me her umbrella. We attached it to a green metal hand cart that Charles had used to move his paint supplies. It worked like a charm. It was fun working besides other artists, joking and telling stories. I should look into attending the paintout next year.