Maui Plein Air Painting Invitational

I was in Maui during the Maui Plein Air Painting Invitational.  En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air," and is  used to describe the act of painting outdoors.  The Invitational was a week long event held in Lahaina showcasing 25 plein air painters from Maui and the US Mainland.  These artists (it is an honor to be chosen ) painted throughout the week culminating in a 2 hour plein air painting session on Saturday where the artists worked along the main street in Lahaina.  I met Mary Pettis from

Mary Pettis

Minnesota and she explained the whole invitational thing.  I had associated the word "invitational" with sports so I was enlightened!  All the work was shown at the Village Galleries with a gala "Collector's Hour" where one had the opportunity to purchase  a painting ahead of the general public.

I am not usually into contemporary landscape paintings but I was impressed with the work.  And the reason is that  I usually find them to be either corny, uninteresting, or lacking in skill, as in accuracy, use of colors, or handling of paint. While it isn't important to be accurate but if  you aren't going in that direction, you better have a strong sense of the object before abstracting it.  There were certainly plenty of galleries in Lahaina that had the obligatory whale paintings and yes, they were skillfully painted, but not what interests me.  These Invitational painters had a certain something - I think what it is - is experience.  They have been painting for years, really understanding the light, how it affects shapes and developing an enchanting composition. Their skills on handling colors and paint were obvious and it was a treat to visit the gallery to see what these painters could do in 2 hours.
I didn't know what was going on when I met Mary as she was just finishing up her painting.  I said "you did that in 2 hours?"  And her  reply was "yes, 2 hours and 40 years".

Check out the work of all the artists here.