The Mountain Air Painters have been meeting weekly (Thursday!) for several decades from spring through fall to paint together en plein air -French for “in the open air”. We keep a long list of various painting locations, from downtown Old Forge, the Green Bridge or McCauley Mountain to private camps tucked in around one of the chain of lakes or lesser known locations like Hawkinsville Dam. Each year it becomes more challenging to choose as we add more and more favorite locations. The group gathers and paints together, but we also spend time catching up on painting and personal news and, of course, giving each other encouragements and suggestions. We meet as a group from May-October and plan our schedule about a month in advance. If the weather is uncooperative we meet at View to paint in the lobby or an upstairs classroom. The medium varies from painter to painter: watercolor, acrylic, oil or pastel; as does our experience and skill level, but we all enjoy being outdoors, each others’ company and the pleasure of painting en plein air. Some of us live in the area (year round or seasonally) and some of us travel some distance each week, from Cazenovia, Waterville or Utica - but we all have our own ADK history and stories of growing up or growing older in the Adirondack Mountains.
Most of us describe our working lives in the past tense - teachers, human services, builders, physicians. Our backgrounds are unique and interesting. All of us are grateful for the time and resources to be able to create together.
We all share an appreciation and respect for “our Adirondacks” and hope that our paintings inspire others to love and care for this unique area. We are delighted to share this exhibit, Mountain Air Painters: ADK Expressions en Plein Air.
