4/12/23 to 4/16/23 New Harmony, IN

For me, it was year two for Plein Air in New Harmony for IPAPA its 24th year. I encourage anyone wanting to try a new experience in painting to check out their website, I will list below in resources!

New Harmony sits on the Wabash not far from Evansville Indiana. It is somewhat of a desolate drive if you are coming from Indianapolis or Bloomington. There just isn’t much getting there until there is.

I had very little understanding of Plein until I joined. I knew you painted outside but lets say painting outside has its challenges. Bugs, weather, the lighting, choosing your spot and the foot traffic factor into your painting. After my thorough research from Youtube I equipped myself with the basic tools and signed up. The first year I just wandered around…a lot and I spent alot of time setting up my painting but it was a new experience and one that requires practice, practice, practice.

Nothing prepared me for the number of painters congregating in one place and the amount of talent I witnessed. The comaraderie and the originality of each painter you meet is truly a gift. Everyone together doing their own thing apart.

The town is quite appealing and the people who live there make their homes inviting with flowers and walkways. There are endless places to paint. On my first day out I scouted out a place to paint and set up my easel. I also met a lady from northern Indiana who was painting the same scene. Artists travel from all over to partipate in the 4 day paint out.

And what a great opportunity to get the girlfriends together for a cabin weekend. With a few visitors to the site, the very active Mole digging away while we sat by the fire, the swarm of carpenter bees who finally agreed to go away after we built a smoky fire and the chubby racoon just waiting for us to drop a morsel, we had our share of special guests. The campground hosts were great, the cabin at the Harmonie State Park was super cute. Make sure to check out the amenities and plan accordingly. (bring your own bedding, towels, etc..)

For the painters.

www.inpainters.org

Supply list ; Grip Paint brush Holder and Drying rack/caddy; 20 Slots Artist Paint Brush Roll up Bag Holder Canvas Pouch; Palette Box (Jack Richeson) Paint, Turpentine, umbrella with grip; brushes; papertowels, pencil & eraser, water & snacks!

https://indianastateparks.reserveamerica.com for the cabins at Harmonie State Park