Fun at the Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association Spring Plein Air Festival



Downtown Blue Ridge

Recently I participated in the Spring Plein Air Festival in Blue Ridge GA which is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association (BRMAA). We had sixteen artists participate in the event and we painted on April 12, 13 & 15, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

It has taken me a few weeks to get this post for the blog done ... Spring is such a busy time of year for artists that participate in plein air festivals. So .... Here are a few shots of locations I painted in, in progress shots of paintings, and also three of the finished pieces.


I spent most of the morning at The Art Center checking in the artists and stamping their paper, panels and canvas. That is always fun... meeting the artists and giving out information about where they can paint and giving out different maps of the Blue Ridge area. Here is a shot of downtown Blue Ridge... which I painted in oil and was not very happy with. This was not one of the paintings I framed and submitted.

On Saturday, several of us decided to paint out Aska Road at Stanley Creek Road... the actual place is Falls Creek Falls. Here are several shots from that morning! The beginning of my pastel painting and the next shot in progress.

Beginning Underpainting
for the Pastel at the waterfall

In progress with some pastel
over the underpainting.

 Also here a few shots of my artist friends that painted along with me: Camille (Candy) Day, Virginia Dauth, Keith Burgess, Helen (Cissie) Jones... and my daughter, Ashley Mize was along also hiking and taking photos.

Several of the artists
along with me at the Fall Creek Falls

Saturday afternoon, we relocated to Mrs. Parks property to paint from an awesome view atop a nice hill. Her property has barns, silo, gravel road, rolling pasture and trees, and views of the Blue Ridge Mountains! The artists along changed also: Joanna Karpay, Karen Margulis, Jayne Bachman, and from the morning, Keith Burgess and Virginia Dauth. It is a wonderful place to paint and I try to paint something from her property... and visit with Ruby Parks ... every Plein Air Festival in Blue Ridge GA.

Oil Painting
"Red Top"

Here is my painting... a 12" x 16" oil painting in the frame... I can't believe I forgot to take a photo of the painting before taking it in for the show. What was I thinking... probably about what needed to be done in such a short amount of time. I know you'll forgive me, right?

Sunday morning several of us headed to a home with gardens in the mountains... belonging to Marsha Murphy. It was a real treat to see what she has planned for her property, and how far she has come. Each year she has different flowers along with the perennials, bushes and trees that are the mainstay of her garden. "Murphy" as she likes to be called is well known for her metal sculptures. I could not resist painting one of her dragonfly pieces that was located in the shadows of her front yard... among the trees. Here is a photo of the painting and a couple of her property.

14" x 11" Oil Painting
"Shadow Messenger"

On Sunday, we could submit up to three pieces we created during the event for a show at The Art Center. Sarah Verner, Executive Director of BRMAA judged the entries and awards were given to four artists.

14" x 11" Pastel
"Cool Rocks"
at Fall Creek Falls

These three paintings are on display at "The Art Center" in the Historic Courthouse in downtown Blue Ridge GA ... Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association!