en plein air

“Open Sky Art” Exhibit at Caribou Coffee

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Artist Scott Myers at work on an "en plein air" painting for Open Sky Art.
Artist Scott Myers at work on an "en plein air" painting for Open Sky Art.

June 11, 2009 (CHAPEL HILL, NC) – Joseph Rowand, director and curator at Somerhill Gallery in Durham, was stunned to learn that the artists who participated in Kimberly Alvis’ “Open Sky Art” event on Sunday, June 7, began and completed their paintings in just a few hours that day. Rowand arrived at Caribou Coffee on 110 West Franklin Street in Chapel Hill late that afternoon to select the top three ribbon-winners among the 8 completed works.

“I thought they started three days ago,” he said as he studied the paintings now displayed on the walls of the downtown coffee shop.

Artists in the gardens
Artists in the gardens

Open Sky Art was an “en plein air” (French for “in the open air”) painting session hosted by Chapel Hill artist Kimberly Alvis in her lush gardens just outside the downtown district. Participating artists chose whatever element or view they wanted to paint on Alvis property, which includes a pond and small wooden bridge, pool, gazebo, extensive gardens in bloom and ornamental trees.

The artists brought their own supplies and painted outdoors from 8 a.m. to around 2 p.m. before delivering the completed works – most of which were also framed – to Caribou Coffee’s West Franklin Street location, where they became part of the Open Sky Art Exhibit to celebrate “en plein air” painting.

Painting "en plein air"
Painting "en plein air"

An advocate and veteran of open-air painting, Kimberly Alvis contributed three of her own oil paintings for the show, although as host and a member of the Somerhill Gallery stable of artists, her works were not included in the judging for the three winners.

For First Place, Rowand selected an 8×10 piece of the pond and bridge, rendered in pastels, by Linda Wood of Wood Design & Art Studio in Raleigh. The painting is titled “June Garden” and Wood will receive the only cash prize.

Second Place went to Scott Meyers of Chapel Hill, a member of the Orange County Artists Guild, for his 14×17 oil painting of an old Adirondack chair sitting by the bank of the pond.

Third Place went to Tesh Parekh, co-owner of IWP Photography and a member of the Visual Art Exchange in Raleigh, for a 12×16 watercolor of the pond and surrounding gardens — one of two pieces Parekh completed that day.

Open Sky Art event, sponsored by Kimberly Alvis
Open Sky Art event, sponsored by Kimberly Alvis

Kimberly Alvis sponsored the Open Sky Art event and exhibit to celebrate “en plein air” painting and go expose artists who enjoy it to a wider audience.

“I’m very grateful to the management of Caribou on Franklin Street for allowing us to display our exhibit there,” she said.

The Open Sky Art Exhibit will remain in Caribou Coffee at 110 W. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill,  through mid-July and will be part of the town’s Second Friday Art Walk.

About Kimberly Alvis: An accomplished artist, Kimberly Alvis is recognized for her representational work in oil on canvas, linen and panel. She is represented in the Triangle area for Somerhill Gallery in Durham (www.somerhill.com) and the Little Art Gallery & Craft Collection in Raleigh (www.littleartgalleryandcraft.com.) According to Somerhill Gallery’s Joseph Rowand, Alvis’ work offers “a style reminiscent of the 17th century Dutch and Spanish masters. We encounter with Kim’s work an artist who celebrates the past, deploying paint and light to exquisitely delineate her own compositions.”  To see more of her work, visit www.alvisart.com.

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Caribou Coffee On West Franklin To Host “Open Sky Art” Exhibit

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"Girls Fishing," an 'en plein air' painting by Kimberly Alvis
"Girls Fishing," an 'en plein air' painting by Kimberly Alvis

June 2, 2009 (CHAPEL HILL, NC) – The Caribou Coffee Company location at 110 West Franklin Street in downtown Chapel Hill will host Open Sky Art: An Exhibit, beginning Sunday, June 7 and running throughout the month.

Open Sky Art is a celebration of “en plein air” painting (French for “in the open air”), sponsored by Chapel Hill artist Kimberly Alvis, who wants to expose the art and the artists who enjoy this method of painting to a wider local audience.

“Caribou Coffee seeks out different avenues to connect with community, and here on West Franklin Street we’re always looking for opportunities to support the local artists and musicians,” said store manager Carla Strickland.

“We’re delighted and honored that Carla and Caribou Coffee have agreed to host our exhibit,” Alvis said. “The popularity of that coffee shop and its location right in the middle of everything on Franklin Street will provide excellent exposure for the artists who are lugging their easels, paints, brushes and talent outdoors to create original works of art under the open sky.”

A frequent participant in open-air painting, Kimberly Alvis is hosting an all-day painting session in her own gardens on Sunday, June 7. Over a dozen artists are participating. Paintings completed that day and prepared for hanging will be included in the Open Sky Art Exhibit. Somerhill Gallery’s celebrated director and curator Joe Rowand will then determine First, Second and Third place winners. A cash prize will be awarded to the First Place winner.

“En plein air” painting challenges artists to create works outside of their studios, using what they see and feel around them as inspirations for their work. During the Open Sky Art painting session, artists will use Kimberly Alvis’ lush gardens, backyard pond and parade of ducks as potential subjects.

“I love ‘en plein air’ painting because you never know what you’re going to have to deal with,” Alvis said, remembering a particular session when she had to keep goats from munching on her canvas while she was painting on a goat farm near Graham, NC. “The wind, the quality of the lighting – everything factors in when you’re painting outdoors.”

As the host and sponsor of Open Sky Art, Alvis will not paint during the event or include her work in the judging process, but she will hang a completed painting in the exhibit.

The Open Sky Art Exhibit can be seen in Caribou on Franklin Street during the town’s Second Friday Art Walk (June 12) and throughout the month during regular business hours.

Caribou Coffee Company, Inc., founded in 1990, makes it a practice to give back to the communities where its shops are located. For more information, visit www.cariboucoffee.com.

For more information on Open Sky Art and Kimberly Alvis, visit www.alviswart.com.

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Kimberly Alvis Presents “Open Sky Art: An Event, An Exhibit”

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Kimberly Alvis in her Chapel Hill studio.
Kimberly Alvis in her Chapel Hill studio.

May 13, 2009 (CHAPEL HILL, NC) —  Chapel Hill artist Kimberly Alvis will present “Open Sky Art — An Event, An Exhibit” in June. On Sunday, June 7, Alvis will host an “en plein air” painting session in her own gardens. By the end of the day, work completed during the painting session will be included in a special exhibit (location to be announced) that will run into July 12, spanning possibly two Second Friday Art Walks.

Joseph Rowand, the celebrated owner and curator of Somerhill Gallery in Durham, will serve as judge for the Open Sky Art exhibit, selecting a first, second, and third-place winner. The first-place winner will receive a cash prize.

“En plein air” painting – French for “in the open air” — challenges artists to create works outside of their studios, using what they see and feel around them in the land- or streetscape as inspirations for their work. During the Open Sky Art event, participating artists will have Kimberly Alvis’ lush gardens, backyard pond and parade of ducks as potential subjects.

Alvis frequently participates in plein air painting sessions through PAINT NC and Outdoor Painters in Graham, and she recently hosted a small painting session in her gardens through PAINT NC.

“I love plein air painting myself,” Alvis said, “especially this time of year.”

Open Sky Art — the event and exhibit — arose from her desire to attract more artists to the process of outdoor painting, to expose their work to a greater audience, and to give participating artists a chance to have their work seen by an expert of Rowand’s caliber.

“I’m delighted that Joe has agreed to serve as our judge,” said Alvis, who is represented by Somerhill Gallery.

Alvis will announce the exhibition location prior to the painting session.

Artists who participate must bring all of their own supplies and prepare their paintings for hanging prior to the exhibit. Rowand will determine the top three winners after the exhibit is mounted.

As the host and sponsor of Open Sky Art, Alvis will not paint during the event or include her work in the judging process, but she will hang a completed painting in the exhibit.

Artists must register to participate in Open Sky Art: An Event, An Exhibit. Registration forms are available for download only on Alvis’ website: www.alvisart.com.

Alvis’ publicist, Kim Weiss of blueplate pr in Raleigh, is assisting in the event and exhibit and can answer any questions. She can be contacted at kim@bluplacenc.com; 919-272-8615.

Kimberly Alvis is an accomplished artist represented in the Triangle by Somerhill Gallery in Durham and the Little Art Gallery & Craft Collection in Raleigh. To see more of her work, visit www.alvisart.com.

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Chapel Hill Artist Hosts “En Plein Air” Session In Her Gardens

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Kimberly Alvis in her studio
Kimberly Alvis in her studio

April 24, 2009 (CHAPEL HILL, NC) – Artist Kimberly Alvis loves her gardens, which spread out among the trees and pond around her home just outside downtown Chapel Hill. Well tended, they provide her with constant sources for still life paintings, landscapes, and people in landscape paintings – especially when she can capture one of her sons outdoors among them.

On April 27, Alvis will share her gardens and the subject matter they provide with PAINT NC, a group of emerging and professional artists from Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill who meet together regularly to paint en plein air, or “in the open air.”

Alvis is a regular participant in plein air events, both through PAINT NC and
Outdoor Painters, a group based in Graham, NC.

“I love plein air painting because it’s so challenging,” she said. “You never know what you’ll have to deal with. It could be wind, cold, manipulating the easel so the sun isn’t shining on it, which messes up the values.”

Frank LaLumnia, a founding member of Plein-Air Painters of America, explains the challenge – and attraction — of plein air painting:
“Painting from life is a pursuit unlike any other painting technique,” he writes on the organization’s website (www.p-a-p-a.com). “It challenges artists to concentrate every sensory nerve on the information in front of them. They absorb it all, from sight to sound, from temperature to atmosphere, and then channel those feelings from head to hand, re-creating the vision in paints on paper or canvas.”
The late April session in Alvis’ gardens will offer PAINT NC artists a vast assortment of flowers on which to focus their attention and talents including “Lady Banks” roses, Vibirnum and Foxglove. Ducks also wander through Alvis’ gardens regularly, and their likenesses are bound to wind up on a painter’s canvas.

Artists visiting from out of town are welcome to join the PAINT NC group at this spring event by contacting the organizers via the website: www.paintnc.org.

Kimberly Alvis is an accomplished artist represented in the Triangle by Somerhill Gallery in Durham and the Little Art Gallery & Craft Collection in Raleigh. To see more of the artist’s work, visit www.alvisart.com.

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Chapel Hill Artist Participates in “Plein Air” Paint-Out

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"Two Goats" by Kimberly Alvis
"Two Goats" by Kimberly Alvis

November 20, 2008 (CHAPEL HILL, NC) – On a recent weekend this month, Chapel Hill artist Kimberly Alvis joined a group of painters who took their paints, palettes, canvases and easels to Elodie goat farm in Bahama, NC, to participate in an en plein air (French for “in the open air”) painting session coordinated by Outdoor Painters of Graham, NC.

The result is a 12”x16” oil on panel painting entitled “Two Goats” that captures a pair of goats around a large watering pot in a field, their shadows indicating mid-morning. A small wooden shed in the background squats before a grove of tall trees in full autumn color.

“I love plein air painting because it’s so challenging,” Alvis said. “You never know what you’ll have to deal with. It could be wind, cold, manipulating the easel so the sun isn’t shining on it — which messes up the values — or trying to keep a goat from eating your canvas! When I get back to painting in my studio it’s so much easier.”

Frank LaLumnia, a founding member of Plein-Air Painters of America, explains the challenge – and attraction — of plein air painting:

“Painting from life is a pursuit unlike any other painting technique,” he writes on the organization’s website (www.p-a-p-a.com). “It challenges artists to concentrate every sensory nerve on the information in front them. They absorb it all, from sight to sound, from temperature to atmosphere, and then channel those feelings from head to hand, re-creating the vision in paints on paper or canvas.”

According to LaLumnia, plein air painting began in 19th-century Europe. “Englishman John Constable believed the artist should forget about formulas and trust his own vision in finding truth in nature.”

French Impressionist painters such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir also advocated en plein air painting, and much of their work was created outdoors.

Outdoor Painters in Graham facilities and promotes artists who enjoy plein air painting by working with property owners or agents to secure access to restricted or private property for “paint-outs.” For more information, visit the website: http://www.outdoorpainter.org.

Kimberly Alvis is an accomplished artist represented in the Triangle by Somerhill Gallery. She is currently showing a collection of recent works at the Carrboro Town Hall in Carrboro, NC. To see more of the artist’s work, visit http://www.alvisart.com.
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