Plein Air event coming soon...

The 2^nd Annual SouthShore Plein Air Festival will take place March 28 - 30^th, 2008. Artists will be painting at various locations throughout the community on Friday 28 March and Saturday 29 March from 9 am to 3 pm. Sites so far selected include YMCA Camp Christina in Riverview, The Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach, Camp Bayou, The Resort and Club at Little Harbor and E.G. Simmons Park and the Woman's Club in Ruskin. Maps showing the location of artists will be available at The Ruskin Chamber of Commerce and the Resort and Club at Little Harbor one week prior to the beginning of the festival. The public is invited to visit the artists on site

On Sunday, 30 March from 1 to 6 pm the public is invited to a reception at the Resort and Club at little Harbor. The presentation of awards to artists will occur during the first hour of the reception but the finest of the works produced during the festival will be on display to the public and offered for sale at the artist' discretion. A commission from the sale of any artwork will be collected by the SouthShore Arts council. There is no charge to the public to attend the reception.

The term "Plein Air" refers to a style of painting that is spontaneous and drawn directly from nature. The process of creating plein air art, however, may not be as simple as the concept. Spontaneously capturing the ever-changing elements of nature requires true craftsmanship and patience. Talented plein air artists are able to draw on right and left-brain skills, recording the immediacy of shape-shifting lights and shadows across a landscape or figure while dealing with the challenges of Mother Nature.

Major Sponsors of the Festival include the Resort and Club at Little Harbor and The St. Petersburg Times.

For further information please contact Anne Madden, 813-645-3732

Photo:

Bob McAnispie of Wesley Chapel paints outside the Ruskin Woman's Club during last year's SouthShore Plein Air Festival