When a flurry of painters descends on the Main Line, it can only mean one thing—Wayne Art Center’s Plein Air Festival is back.
Olena Babak is one of the lucky painters who will participate in this month’s festival.
Consumed by the daily hustle and bustle, we often lose sight of life’s transience. Every moment is fleeting, and plein air painters are here to capture glimpses at Wayne’s upcoming festival (waynepleinair.org), from May 4 to 10. As one of the longest-running outdoor painting events in the country, the festival welcomes 32 hand-selected artists from far and wide. While traveling to multiple locations within 30 miles of Wayne, the artists will create nearly 300 works from direct observation. “It’s extremely challenging to paint from life, as opposed to working from photos, because the subject is constantly changing: shadows move, bugs attack, people ask questions… all on top of time constraints,” says juror Larry Moore. While the plein air technique is nothing new, popularized by artists like Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, the centuries-old practice still holds. “What you really get with every painting is a story; it’s a kind of journal experience. I hope the viewers get to talk to the artists and ask them about each painting. They’d be surprised at the stories behind each one.” Shortly after the paint dries, the Collectors’ Preview & Sale on May 10 will award artists $25,000 in cash prizes. For those who didn’t catch an artist at work—fear not. The pieces will be displayed at The Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival Exhibition from May 11 to June 21, reminding us to stop and savor every moment.
Photography by: COURTESY OF BRAND
