Capturing a plein air Leelanau moment in time
Martha Elchert sketches the South Manitou Island lighthouse.
By Abby Chatfield
Sun contributor
Michelle Jahraus and her dog arrived at Good Harbor beach before dawn. She made it a point to get there early enough to choose the perfect spot to set up her easel and paint supplies in time to capture the sunrise over Lake Michigan. Jahraus, a Maple City resident, had just begun to block in the scene when she felt a powerful whoosh of air accompanied by the sound of beating wings. She looked up to see a bald eagle flying away from a perch right above her head.
It is moments like this that draw artists to the act of en plein air, a French expression meaning “in the open air” and the practice of painting outdoors, on location. Up until the mid-19th century in France, painters regularly sketched their landscape subjects on location and later moved to the studio to finish them. The invention of collapsible tin paint tubes and portable easels added convenience to painting outside. These innovations, paired with the work of Impressionist masters such as Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, propelled this method of landscape painting into popularity.
Traverse City-based artist Martha Elchert believes that plein air painting is more than a picture of place. She described it as the artist capturing a moment in time that is influenced by all the senses. “The sound of waves on the shore, the scent of flowers in the air, the hum of traffic or people talking, wind through the trees, are part of a finished plein air painting,” Elchert shared.
The Hudson River School painters are credited with bringing en plein air to the United States. These painters traveled to France to learn from the French Impressionists, and painting outside eventually became a fundamental part of art education.
It is not difficult to imagine why Leelanau County appeals to plein air painters. As artist Linda Keller of Maple City said, “There is something magical about Leelanau County.” From everchanging waterscapes to rolling farmland, diverse forests, and quaint villages with endless character, Leelanau is plein air paradise. Lake Leelanau resident and painter, Susie Quinlan, expounded on Keller’s sentiment, stating that “Leelanau County is a magical locale for plein air painting because of the beautiful golden sunlight. Leelanau sits on the 45th parallel, the same parallel as the south of France where the Impressionists painted. We are blessed to be able to create in this wonderful place.”
If you are interested in trying your own hand at plein air painting in Leelanau, how and where do you begin? Artists from the Old Art Building’s (OAB) Painting on Location group were asked to share tips on getting started and getting involved in the local plein air scene, along with the challenges and rewards this form of art presents.
Elchert is a participating artist in all of Leelanau’s plein air events. She is the organizer of the OAB’s Painting on Location program. She is also a member of Great Lakes Plein Air Painters Association (GLPAPA) and is co-chairing the group’s upcoming “Paint the Waterways” show, opening Nov. 5 at the Michigan History Center in Lansing and online, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Michigan DNR Waterways Commission.
Elchert suggests just getting outside with your normal painting and drawing materials. Take along a small stool and easel if you have them, but even these items are not necessary. You can paint on your lap from a park bench or picnic table located in a scenic area. She emphasized “Paint often! Paint what you love! That could be a view of the lake or the pot of flowers on your porch. Anything goes! Keep it small and simple to start. Enjoy the process. It doesn’t have to be a finished painting. Think of it as a study.”
Pat McKean, a plein air painter for 16 years who resides in Suttons Bay, stated “You have to just get going, then you start to see details. Keep what is helpful and delete the rest.”
Like with anything worthwhile, challenges will arise. McKean and Elchert agree that weather is one of the biggest. Others have issues with bugs, adequately organizing themselves, being portable and painting fast enough to effectively capture the fleeting light of a given moment. Elchert professed that, for her, “Painting outdoors from life is more about trying to paint the light. You have to paint quickly and decisively because the light will change.”
Jahraus, owner of Duck to Swan Gallery in Cedar, grew up in a family of artists on the Old Mission Peninsula. She spent a lot of her childhood coloring outside and candidly recalls her plein air career beginning as a “colorer.” She articulated“Painting outdoors is sort of like working on a jigsaw puzzle quickly before the light or pieces shift. There is so much information hitting your vision, and it is the painter’s job to simplify and edit it into a great composition.”
Carol Geiger of Suttons Bay named her biggest challenge as “learning to create a boundary and composition from a scene that seems endless.” Jahraus expounded “The artist tries to simplify the mass into pieces that let the viewer’s eye wander through and hopefully connect with the joy or the breathless moment or peaceful scene.”
With practice comes reward. McKean said that after practicing plein air painting, she now sees landscape composition everywhere. Elchert shares her sentiment, “I am always looking for interesting compositions in the landscape now. I can pick them out whether riding in the car or hiking. I am always watching.”
For Keller, practicing focus and existing in the present moment are rewards, as is participating in a group activity in nature. Suttons Bay artist Eddee Collins revels in “the quiet time to just study nature, find the depth in nature,” while McKean most enjoys seeing the different ways people view and interpret the same scene.
When viewing a collection of paintings from a group’s plein air outing, it is impossible not to notice the variety in perspectives. To experience this, there are annual plein air exhibits that take place at Leelanau County’s art centers.
Glen Arbor Arts Center (GAAC) held its 14th annual Plein Air Weekend the first week of August. It is unique in the area because it includes three painting events with different focuses and guidelines for painters to follow. The challenges culminate in a public exhibit and sale at the Glen Arbor Town Hall. Approximately 70 artists, mostly residents of Leelanau and Grand Traverse counties, participate in this three-day annual fundraiser and paint out, the name for an event where plein air artists congregate to paint.
Leland’s OAB has organized an annual plein air paint out and exhibit over Memorial Day weekend every year for the past decade. In 2022, the nonprofit hosted over 40 local artists who were required to paint from an outdoor location of their choice on the same day the exhibit opened. The show is available to view just two hours after the painters bring their work to the OAB, often still wet as it is hung on the walls.
The late and respected artist, Gene Rantz, started a plein air paint out that Northport Arts Association (NAA) continues to this day. Each year in mid-July, approximately 50 artists participate in the annual two-day Plein Air Paint Out. Artists are invited to paint throughout the Northport area and exhibit finished work at the Wet Paint Sale in Northport’s Village Arts Building.
These same organizations, all nonprofits dedicated to promoting the arts in Leelanau County, also offer classes and meet ups for anyone interested in plein air, regardless of experience or skill level. GAAC is hosting the county’s last plein air class for the year. Their plein air painting workshop will take place Sept. 12-16, and registration is still open. NAA offered plein air classes earlier this year and has classes planned in 2023 with Scott Kenyon, an award-winning artist who specializes in plein air painting.
The OAB offers the only program that provides plein air painters the opportunity to practice as a group. The Painting on Location program spans 18 weeks from June through September. This is the place to start if you have never tried plein air painting, as all skill levels are welcome. The program invites participants to paint at a different location in Leelanau County each week and includes access to numerous private properties that would otherwise be inaccessible. This August, the group held its second annual Clothesline Exhibit and Sale on the front lawn of the OAB. The program was established 16 years ago by late artist Ellie Rea Golden, who was an inspiration to many in the local plein air painting community.
Also worth noting is Plein Air Painters of Northwest Michigan, who host paint outs on Thursdays in the Traverse City area. In addition, many Leelanau and Traverse-based artists belong to GLPAPA, who organize juried shows and member exhibitions, along with monthly paint outs throughout the state.
For more details on the Leelanau County organizations that support plein air, check out the Glen Arbor Arts Center, the Old Art Building, and the Northport Arts Association.
