2012 COME PAINT WITH ME schedule available for download in April.

COME PAINT WITH ME a program that encourages artists to paint en plein air has been around since 1997. It was then that I casually invited a few friends and fellow artists to join me as I painted in the outdoors. Fourteen years later, the program has grown to attract artists of all levels of expertise, many of whom travel great distances on a Thursday morning to paint in Mother Nature’s Studio.
COME PAINT WITH ME is a FREE, non-instructional program for adults and serious young art students. From beginner to professional, artists are encouraged to paint en plein air at selected sites chosen for their natural aesthetic characteristics, and convenience, in the Pocono Mountain region of Pennsylvania. Among those are Grey Towers NHS in Milford, the Dorflinger-Suydam Sanctuary in White Mills, and Hemlock Farms, in Lords Valley, where the program has been formally adopted into their various conservation, arts and cultural agendas.
By choosing to grapple with all their gear, trudging through the underbrush to work in the outdoors where the light is constantly changing, one has a special relationship with nature. The advantage being, communication with the environment and the stimulus it provides for interpretation. The opportunity is present for the artist to work in medium of choice as he creates and records in his own unique style on paper, board or canvas, that which he sees and feels. Though there is no formal instruction, part of every meeting is devoted to sharing and critique, allowing for those interested, to learn from one another, gaining new perspective, some guidance and inspiration.
COME PAINT WITH ME artists participate every year in invitational art shows and exhibits at local galleries. Many have been show-cased at the annual Pinchot Mansion holiday festivities at Grey Towers, the Blough Gallery at The Dorflinger-Suydam Sanctuary, the Steer Barn at Hemlock Farms, the Gallery at Chant Realtors, Lords Valley, and The Monroe County Environmental Education Center’s Kettle Creek Gallery. The thrill of admiration for and selling one’s work brings a spectacular feeling of accomplishment. Artists have benefited enormously in ways that have energized the confidence of beginners as well as adding support to the creative integrity of the more experienced.
The 2010 season brought large numbers of artists, many first-timers, to paint along the Delaware, or on a farm, alongside a lake, or in a small town. After 21 weeks, we disperse into winter mode…many still go out there to brave the cold and catch the light, while others work from the warmth of their studios. All however, anxiously await the 2012 schedule in the spring…. appearing here in April, when “new vistas will open for the artist who paints en plein air”…JP