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 Plein air painting and photo shooting are the activity, fun and comradarie are the objective. Most of the time we come home with some nice work! There is nothing like creating outdoors in the environment. The light is different. You are part of the painting. It's a challenge worth experiencing. We create for a couple of hours then break for lunch about noon, eat, critique our work, then make our way back. Join Us! October 2010 Art Outing watercolor painting demo with  Bruce HandfordOctober 9, 2010 Delaplane Cellars (refer to homepage for more info) ARTIST INFORMATION Born and raised in upstate New York, Bruce Handford
is a watercolor landscape painter who favors eastern coastal, rural and
cityscapes. To me, "watercolor is a moving, living, spontaneous media that lets
me make a statement in shorthand style at one sitting".. Whether painting plein
air or in his studio, he will always use a value sketch of the subject first and
transfer that energy to his painting.
Although mostly self-taught, he has studied with
many nationally known artists. He is a signature member of the Transparent
Watercolor Society of America, Watercolor West, and the North East Watercolor
Society. He is also an elected member of the Washington Society of Landscape
Painters. His award-winning artwork has been shown in international,
national and regional exhibitions and many of his paintings are included in
corporate and private collections across the country. He is currently conducting
workshops and giving demos along the East Coast. He was featured in the Fall
2007 issue of the American Artist Watercolor magazine article entitled "The Art
of Storytelling". He was also previewed in the June 2006 issue of the American
Art Collector magazine for his classic transparent watercolor style. Cynthia
McBride, owner of the McBride Gallery in Annapolis, MD says .,.."Bruce Handford
paints in a style that reflects the best traditions of American watercolorists.
His paintings have a purity and energy created with fresh colorful washes and
emboldened by his strong free-form drawing technique that gives structure to his
work. The exaggerated architectural shapes almost give human personalities to
buildings, while the minimalist figures in his paintings give a sense of scale
and life to each scene."
Meeting Place and Time For the painting demos, please meet at the location. We meet at the Starbucks in the shopping center at the corner of Braddock and Stone Roads in Centreville at 8:00 am on the Third Saturday of the month and get on our way by 8:30 am to our destination. We usually venture out no more than about an hours drive from Centreville. The only thing that keeps us from going out is steady rain and temperatures under 32 and over 90 degrees! Places We Go This is a sample of places we have been in the past. We tend to decide at the monthly meeting where we will go. Museum Outing We made our way downtown DC to see the Winslow Homer exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. Dangerfield Marina, Alexandria, Virginia. Lovely marina on the Potomac right on GW Parkway just north of Old Town Alexandria. Sky Meadows Park, Paris, Virginia. Beautiful rolling hills and valley vistas. Historic farm home. West on Route 50 about 20 minutes from Middleburg. Aldie, Virginia. Quaint old town with historic mill, antique shops and inns. Wonderful subjects for their show in June. Oatlands Plantation, Leesburg, Virginia. Gorgeous historic plantation home, grounds and gardens. Great painting for their show in August. Blue Bells, Manassas Battlefield Park, Manassas, Virginia. Largest grove of blue bells east of the Mississippi. Boardwalks for hiking by the old Stone Bridge. Old Towne Manassas Charming Historic Downtown Manassas is full of little shops and restaurants and a train shop. Margaret Thomas' Iris Garden, Reston, Virginia Hopefully the garden will be open this year. It is three acres full of blooming irises and peonies. West Ox Road between Fox Mill Road and where West Ox bends. Colvin Run Mill, Great Falls, Virginia Located on Route 7, West of Tysons by Great Falls, Colvin Run Mill is a historic working mill with all kinds of activities. There is also a store and a blacksmith shop. Frying Pan Park, Herndon, Virginia Working farm in the middle of suburbia. Beautiful red barns, farm animals, tractors, farm house, old school house and fields. The park also has an equestrian events building which may have an event when we are there. Lots of horses to see! Brookside Gardens, Wheaton Regional Park We will be going to the Brookside Gardens in Wheaton Regional Park in Wheaton, Maryland. It is beautifully landscaped with many specialty gardens, such as a Japanese garden, aquatic gardens, butterfly garden and a much more. Pack a lunch, bring your equipment and enjoy the morning creating. Deale, Maryland A charter fishing village about 20 minutes south of Annapolis. It takes a little over an hour to get there. We've found a restaurant parking lot to paint the bay view. We also go to lunch there. (Oh, and we found a local coffee shop with goooood coffee!) Meadlowlark Gardens, Vienna, Virginia This place is spectacular when the trees are in full color. There are a couple of ponds, gazebo, hills, specialty gardens, etc. Located off Beulah Road between Rts. 7 and 123. Belle Haven Marina, Belle Haven, Virginia Practice painting and photographing water. Located on the Potomac just south of Alexandria towards Mt. Vernon. Lots of boats and river views. Reston Town Center, Reston, Virginia There is a beautiful fountain, shops and restaurants and the ice rink. Painting and photographing the ice skaters is fun! |
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