JEFFERSON — Jefferson’s Rotary Waterfront Park hosted around 65 student artists and a handful of adult artist mentors last Friday for a plein air art workshop sponsored for the past four years by the Arts Alliance of Greater Jefferson.
The art style of “plein air” is translated from the French and means the art was created on site, from real life, outside, in natural light.
This outdoors workshop gave art students the chance to try out this form of art in different media, from chalk pastels to oil pastels to acrylic to watercolor.
The students went from station to station to learn the techniques to work in all of these different mediums.
The student and adult artists spent the full day in the park, during which time participants produced several original works of art featuring the historic buildings, the budding plant life in the park, and riverside views, all captured in the shifting daylight over the course of the day.
“We stayed in Rotary Park since it had so many venues for artists to choose to paint — trees, flowers, water, buildings,” said coordinator Chris Steinmiller, who organized the event for student artists and art mentors from throughout the region.
“Having everything centered in one place made it easier for students to see all the artist demonstrations, and for the volunteer plein air artists to coach students while working on their own artwork,” Steinmiller said.
The coordinator said that four adult artists worked with students throughout the day. These mentors included Mary Beth Drabisczcak of Waukesha, Barbara Hayden of Oconomowoc and Jeanne Bril of Bay View as well as Steinmiller herself. From Concord, Steinmiller erves as the resident artist on the board of the Arts Alliance of Greater Jefferson.
Steinmiller said that part of the mission of the Arts Alliance of Greater Jefferson is to foster an awareness and appreciation for the arts in the local community.
“The Arts Alliance donates supplies, organizes the volunteer artists and coordinates with Jefferson Schools to introduce students to the benefits and enjoyment of plein air painting,” Steinmiller said.
In organizing the event, the Arts Alliance worked closely with art teachers in the School District of Jefferson.
The local nonprofit arts group has done similar projects for the past three years. Steinmiller said that the student event ties in with the Arts Alliance of Greater Jefferson’s mission to foster a greater awareness and appreciation for the arts in the local area. With its strong local focus, the alliance has always had a representative from the School District as well as a local artist on its board.
For the last several years, the alliance’s big annual event has been an outdoor Plein Air competition, in which artists from Wisconsin and beyond spend a week painting scenic venues in and around Jefferson.
At the end of the day, the adult artists selected 10 outstanding works to be showcased at the upcoming AP Art Gallery show, set from 4-7 p.m. Friday May 17 at the Brickhaus Cafe in Jefferson.
The student artworks were chosen for exemplifying the attributes of value, composition and execution, and there was also a People’s Choice award given. The public is welcome to attend the reception May 17 and to see some prime examples of these young people’s work and the work of Advanced Placement artists from the School District of Jefferson.
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