SPECIAL NOTE Regarding COVID: THIS EVENT IS STILL ON! We are planning to run this as an all-outdoor event with proper social distancing and personal space both during the painting time as well as during the sale. All sales will be handled outdoors.
Artists of every painting medium and every skill level are invited to create plein air works at our Spring Plein Air Paint Day & Art Sale on Sunday, June 14, 2020, from 9am-4:00pm at Kinstone. Participating artists may exhibit and sell any works produced during this event between 4pm and 6pm OUTSIDE of the Kinstone Education Building and on the Porch. Due to this being our very first plein air event and due to the limited, 2-hour sales opportunity on this day, Kinstone will retain NO part of any sales made by participating artists for this event only. Artists must remove their artwork by 6:30pm.
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Just one week before Solstice, the lovely spirit of Spring will be in fine fiddle in June. She will already be saying farewell as greens intensify, blues deepen and she strews the ground with fair flowers to prepare the way for Summer. Come out to paint Spring’s portrait as only you can before she is gone!
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The cost to participate is $5/person (i.e. equal to and included in the price of admission to Kinstone!) No pre-registration is required. Registration is from 7:30-8:30am onsite. Artists must sign a liability waiver upon Registration. Limited options for food and refreshments (e.g. coffee, tea, hot cocoa, soda, sparkling water) will be available for purchase throughout the day.
In case of rain there are several shelters artists may opt to work in including inside the Dolmen, the yurt, straw-clay cabin, Dragon’s Keep pavilion, Chapel of Creation, the classroom, and the Porch on the Education Center.
Kinstone will maintain its normal open hours (10am to 6pm) to the public throughout this event. Anyone visiting Kinstone (admission is $5/person) on this day is invited to watch, interact with, enjoy and perhaps even purchase the resulting work of the participating artists!
Date: Sunday, June 14, 2020
Time:
- Artist Registration: 7:30am – 8:30am
- Artist Painting: 9:00am – 4:00pm (Artists wishing to exhibit their work should finish painting by 3:30pm or in time to get their completed works to the exhibit area and ready for sale by 4pm.)
- Art Exhibition/Sale: 4:00pm – 6:00pm (Artists must remove their artwork by 6:30pm.)
Location: Kinstone Megalithic Garden, S3439 Cole Bluff Lane, Fountain City, WI
What to bring:
- All your own art supplies, chair and any other set up you require.
- Dress for the weather and wear sturdy walking shoes.
- An umbrella, if you wish, for shade or in case of rain!
- Your own water bottle / travel mug. We encourage you to bring your own water bottle/travel mug to drink from. This is a sustainable practice we promote for all events at Kinstone. If you forget yours, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!
SPRING at Kinstone is full of brilliant greens and golds. Early prairie flowers are in bloom, butterflies are out, and choruses of robins and red winged black birds fill the air. Leafy greens are popping up in the raised beds and trees are newly leafed out. The standing stones are bathing their feet in lush clover and reaching up to touch fresh June skies. The pond is alive with chirruping frogs and ripples made by sweet, Driftless breezes. The paths draw you on to the winding way of the labyrinth, the open chamber of the dolmen, the intimacy of the Circle of Mystery, and so much more. Curvilinear rows of arborvitae and spruce hug the land and shelter you as you immerse yourself in color, light, and movement.
This is our very first plein air event and we are quite excited to welcome artists from near and far! Do you love painting outdoors? Are you inspired by the beauty of Nature? Do the standing stones and sacred, intentional spaces of Kinstone intrigue you? Join us! Note that we also have Summer and Autumn Plein Air paint days coming up later this season, each has slightly different details, so please check out those events and plan to participate then, too!
Kinstone is a contemplative, park-like place with spectacular views, intriguing stonework, and natural buildings. This stunning 30-acre bluff-top property has a fabulous view of the Mississippi River as well as over 100 standing stones including three stone circles, megalithic dolmen, classic 7-circuit labyrinth, thatched, cordwood chapel, dry-stack stone sculpture, natural buildings, food forest gardens, raised bed gardens, 2-acre prairie, pond, woodlands, fields and more.
Our mission states: “Kinstone blends conscious care of the Earth with art to form sacred spaces that invite and inspire people to connect with and experience the creative power of the land to transform, energize and revive the body, mind and spirit.” To further this mission, we are offering three Plein Air Paint Days in 2020 to connect artists and the sacred beauty of the land: Spring, Summer, and Autumn – each one with slightly different details. We are excited about all the possibilities and creative wonder that will manifest from this connection.
So, What is Plein Air Painting?
En Plein Air is a French expression meaning “in the open air” and it describes the practice of artists painting outdoors with the subject directly in view rather than in a studio. Plein air artists work to capture the spirit and essence of a landscape or subject by incorporating natural light, color and movement into their art.
According to Wikipedia, in the mid-19th century, working in natural light became particularly important to various artists and schools of art (e.g. the Barbizon school, Hudson River School, and Impressionists). Wikipedia goes on to say French impressionist painters such as Monet, Pissarro, Cezanne, Van Gogh and Renoir advocated plein air painting and much of their work was done outdoors.
There has been a recent revival of interest in plein air painting in the United States. Groups of plein air artists have begun gathering together to paint at single locations or within certain geographic boundaries giving them a chance to share their talents and creativity with the public and with one another.
Find out more about plein air painting and related events by visiting any of the following websites:
Wisconsin Plein Air Painters Association (WIPAPA)
