The Woodbury FAF Arts Festival

The PPAP was invited to participate in the 2nd annual FAF Festival hosted by the City of Woodbury, NJ, just a hop over the bridge from Philly. Jacqualynn Knight, the Creative Director  contacted me a few weeks ago and was excited to invite the group of us over to plein air paint in the churches and scenes live as the event as it happened on Saturday and gave us a spot to display our work on Sunday. It was a great time and great weather and a great opportunity to paint and talk to a lot of people.

 Saturday we all arrived around 9-ish and signed in and then moved over to Braod Street and found spots to start painting. I was incredibly beautiful weather wise and a perfect day to paint. Jenn Polillo and Alexandra Thomas and I set up to paint the Memorial United Methodist Church, while William Sentman and Alina Osipove moved off to paint another church around the corner. Niloofar Gholamrezaei, who is in the MFA with me at PAFA set up in the parking lot behind the church.

 Jennifer set up near our table and showed us a great painter's stance as she worked away on her first painting.

 

Here is my painting of the Methodist Church, I had to work quick and had a lot of people come over and watch me work and ask me a lot of questions about my work and hat I do, if I do this all the time. I find it so funny that people always ask the same questions, "Are you and artist?" and "Are you painting that?" I am always tempted to answer NO to both!

Later in the day after lunch we all switched places to start more paintings. The shadows started to grow and the light was so great, but the time to get something down was really short, in 15 minutes the light at this time of day changes a lot of things.

Lexi and Niloofar chat as Alina puts a final stroke on her painting

Jennifer races the sun and turned out a great little painting really quick!

My second painting was pretty much a wash, but that's the way it goes painting outside. We wrapped it up and all went home pretty charged and also pretty beat from a long day of painting outside. Plein Air painting is a weird combo of relaxation and intense concentration at times as you have to race and make decisions as the light can suddenly change and then you have to decide what you are going to do--change and race the light or use your memory.

 

Niloofar did a a great little painting, she had a better idea than I did.

Sunday Niloofar and I showed up about 8:30  and set up over by the train station and went to work. I love Woodbury, it has a very Edward Hopper type feel to it, these old buildings are such a joy to paint and have such personality. I set up and went straight at it---and I felt a lot more in sync and also maybe not having my concentration broken by a crowd helped too.

  

 I did take a break and walk down the train tracks a way. I love tracks like this and the smell of the diesel oil takes me right back to being a kid wandering the train tracks by my house in Detroit.

 

A few trains did come by as Niloofar and I painted which was great.

I was almost done here and then it got pretty cloudy and suddenly the light changed, and it was near noon, when we were all supposed to meet up and set up our paintings to display.



 We set up our table and easels and ate lunch ready for an afternoon in the festival. The FAF comped us a table so that was great!

 

Lexi and Alina's paintings

Lexi out painting off of Broad Street

 

Lexi and Niloofar take a lunch break and Nilooofars paintings

       

Niloofar's painting we called Jesus's Garage as it was near the Catholic Church and a picture of me taking a cookie break.

 My final stage of my railroad painting, I had a great time with this and really want to paint this spot again! It had been well over a month since I had a chance to get back out and paint plein air--and boy did i miss it! i feel very recharged by it and hanging with my great friends and great painters!

 

Will's set-up and his great paintings, I really liked the one of the statue in the shade.

 Jennifer had to take off early but therest of us held down the fort till the end of the event at 4pm, then we packed it up and headed out. It was great time and we are all really happy and thankful to Jacqualynn Knight and The FAF and hope to return to Woodbury soon to paint it's quaint buildings and landscapes again soon.