I had a great week doing the wonderful "Art in the Open" , Wexford, Irelands annual Plein Air Festival the end of July and first part of August. It is the largest in the world with over 200 artists from 16 countries. Saw old friends and made a bunch of new ones from all over. I was a bit ill the first three days..I have a rare auto immune Pancreatitus that acts up intermittently and getting up at 6 a.m. and getting to bed at late hours did not help, but finally got a decent nights rest and did my best paintings. I was thrilled to get two nice awards..one in the main exhibit.."Ballymore Farm" shown above and one in the "Quick Draw", a drawing of my great Artist friend, "Louise" shown above. And on top of that..they both sold to two very good collectors from Dublin and Belfast! Certainly, keeps wind in the sails and particularly when I was trying some new things! I decided to do a drawing for the quick draw as that is how it originated in a Northwest Rondevous Group show about 35 years ago that I belong to. That is another story that I will tell later. I had done the same thing in a Plein Air Event in Washington last year and got First place and had four people wanted to buy it..so of course I would want to do it again..and at least glad we had judges that appreciate the skill and importance of good drawing. My painting of the tractor and farmyard was special as I finally was feeling better and as an Artist I am always looking for that special setting that I can really get excited about..and also something challenging. When I saw this scene, I already knew I would get a great painting out of it..and that just does not happen that often when we are out looking for something to paint. I was glad that I talked Karen into getting up there early to catch that early warm morning light! Kind of hated to sell it..but I will do more as I still have some bills to pay! I spent one whole day, just drawing the Artists painting at Tintern Abbey..had a lot of fun and did four of them that day and I thought that this was the best one. Love to draw Artists with all their unique outfits and paraphenalia that I can use as design elements...a lot of fun! The last image is from last weeks painting trip to the Connemara country, in the west of Ireland, and one of our favorite places to go and paint and hike a little. It was the last one we did before having to head home, and also my best as it was a situation where there were no great "scenic" locations and we just happened to stop and take some pictures of some Connemara Ponies and I saw this fascinating arrangement of shapes and colors and again had that feeling that I would get another great painting...and I did! I only had time too pretty much block in the major color and shape relationships and it is certainly not a painting for everyones taste...but I am excited about it and will either touch it up a bit or repaint it again. The Connemara is really a magical place...we joined up with about 15 other Artists who were also in the Plein Air Show, and they were able to stay a whole week..but I had a Portrait Drawing Workshop to teach and so reluctantly we had to leave early. A great bunch of Artists to hang out with..share stories and make new plans. I am teaching another workshop in Kilrush, County Clare next week and that is not too far from the Connemara and weather permitting we will take a few extra days to paint there again. It has been a busy and wonderful Summer here in Ireland and hate to leave again..but Karen will join me at home the middle of September and be able to join me at the second "Yellowstone Park Forever" Plein Air event the end of September and one in Cape Ann in Massachusetts the first part of October..plenty of beautiful Fall color in both locations.. a bit cooler..last year in Yellowstone it got down to around 25 one morning where I was painting..invigorating, but the hands get a bit numb at times! They take great care of the Artists at these two shows..put us up, feed us often and get praised all over the place! Some of the very best Plein Air Artists in both of these shows and so is an honor to be part of them.
I do want to remind people that we have started our new "Artist Buddies" Facebook group and have a good number of signups already. It really is a great deal..probably too great.. as members are getting access to a lot of instruction videos, discussions, and critiques for only $10 a month...I wish I could have had access like that when I was starting out..and even now! I'm told I am giving out way too much for so little...but I do love to teach and share...I was given a scholarship at Art Center School of Design in Los Angeles..one of the very best in the country and I really am grateful and have wanted to give others something like that back, that was so important to my career! Even if you sign up for a month you can see all the videos that I have already posted and you also get a 20% discount on purchases of drawings and paintings on my website! The price goes up to $30 in two months and will have more extensive instruction videos and discussions..thinking of having a sort of tier system that people can pay various amounts for different access. You can access the link n my website..end of the listing on top that says "Artist Buddies" or use this link if you can: t.ly/https://bit.ly/2Mdu5vB Thanks for your time..let me know if you want me to cover anything special in my newsletter and let me know if you seem to enjoy it or not! Hope your Summer has gone well and you had a chance to get out and see this beautiful world that we live in. All my best, Ned
