A highly successful outdoor painting festival, which was held for the first time last year, is about to return to Mandurah and the Peel.
Following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in WA, 'Plein Air Down Under' will be held from September 26-28 around the Mandurah CBD and further afield, including a day in nearby historic Pinjarra.
Hosted by the Mandurah Plein Air Artists, the festival includes workshops, a daily 'wet painting' easel exhibition, organised outdoor painting sessions, feature artist demonstrations and artist talks.
The extensive awards and prizes also include a Youth Art Award.
'Plein Air Down Under' invites artists of all skills and mediums to step outside the studio and celebrate the joy of painting in the open air. In addition to the daily paint outs, artists will be challenged to capture Mandurah's essence at night. Nocturnal paint-outs are a popular activity at plein air festivals around the world and encourage the artists to think beyond their usual palette of colours.
'En plein air' is a French expression which means "in the open air". Plein air artists seek the quality of natural light and atmosphere outdoors and their work is in direct response to the beauty they find in nature. A variety of mediums is used, from oils through to watercolours and pastels.
Featured Artists
Guest Artist Brendon Darby is a multi-award winning artist who has held more than 40 solo exhibitions across Australia, in Austria, Italy, Hong Kong and London. Primarily known for his stunning landscapes and portraits, many of which bridge the gap between realism and abstract, Brendon has been a finalist in The Archibald Prize, The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize and The Black Swan for Portraiture.
Brendon will hold a two-day workshop on 24 and 25 September, as part of the pre-festival activities and will be visible and painting throughout the festival.
Guest Artist Leon Holmes is a professional, international award-winning plein air artist, lecturer and ambassador. He paints from life on location, without the aid of photography and uses his small studies as reference for larger studio works.
Leon travels regularly to exhibit and teach at events around the world and is honoured to have one of his paintings hanging amongst Dutch masterpieces in the Katwjik Museum in Holland. He will hold a one day 'Plein Air for Beginners' Workshop on 25 September for artists new to outdoor painting or in need of a refresher in the basics.
Guest Artist Cass Gartner has been painting for many years and exhibits annually, in and around Perth. Her love of watercolours continues to grow and she enjoys the obvious advantages of working from life, welcoming the challenges it demands. She was the winner of the 2018 Mandurah Crab Fest en plein air competition and a finalist in the 2018 Collie Art Awards.
Cass paints en plein air in Europe and delights in the café and street scenes in Paris, Barcelona, Italy, Poland and the UK. Cass will be conducting an 'Intermediate - advanced Watercolour Workshop' on 25 September as part of Plein Air Down Under, and will be demonstrating and painting over the festival weekend.
Pre-Festival activities
- World Wide Paint Out: 12 and 13 September on the Mandurah foreshore
- Two-day Master Workshop with feature artist Brendon Darby
- One-day Beginners Oil Painting Workshop with feature artist Leon Holmes
- One-day Intermediate-Advanced Watercolour Workshop with feature artist Cass Gartner
- Pinjarra Court House 'en plein air' art exhibition - 1 to 30 September
Festival weekend activities
- Artists 'Meet and Greet' at the Leon Holmes Gallery
- Demonstrations by feature artists Brendon Darby, Leon Holmes and Cass Gartner
- Day and evening paint-outs
- Two-hour 'Quick Draw' painting competition
- A day painting in historical Pinjarra
- Pop up 'wet' easel exhibition each day
- Judge's Invitational Exhibition and Awards
Followup exhibition
Following the Plein Air Down Under festival weekend, an exhibition will be held at Contemporary Art Spaces Mandurah (CASM) gallery on October 3 and 4.
The exhibition will feature works painted on location during the three-day festival, together with paintings by professional and feature artists.
Gillian Peebles has once again been invited to judge, with awards and prizes to be presented on Sunday , 4 October. Artist talks and painting demonstrations will also feature during the exhibition.
All registered artists are eligible for the awards and cash prizes which total over $8,000 and registrations are now open.
The festival is proudly supported by Halls Head Community Bank, Peel Development Commission, Visit Mandurah and the City of Mandurah.
For more information on the festival, contact Judith Darlington on 0404 864 133 or Barbara Thoms on 0414 441 761 or go to pleinairdownunder.com