Laguna Plein Air Invitational Recap - Path to El Moro Cove - Original Oil Painting of El Moro Cove Beach - Crystal Cove Beach Painting - Seascape

"Path to El Moro Cove" | 16" x 20" | Oil on canvas panel
Available at www.KimVanDerHoek.com
©2013 by Kim VanDerHoek

This year I received an email inviting me to be one of the participating artists at the Laguna Plein Air Invitational. It was a very happy moment for me because I've wanted to be part of the event for a number of years. It's also close to my home and wouldn't require big travel plans to be part of it.

I always thought doing a local plein air event would be easier than traveling to do one. Knowing the area and how to get around, being able to sleep in my own bed and getting to see my kids at night I believed would all play in my favor. It was actually a lot more challenging than painting at an event away from home. Choosing painting locations was difficult because I was torn between painting at familiar spots vs. looking for new views. Staying at home meant that all the distractions of everyday life were just waiting for me when walked in the door. For some reason in my kids eyes I am the go to gal for all snack items. There could be 5 other able bodied adults standing next to them in the kitchen and they will still walk to the other end of the house to find me and ask for a snack.

Me with one of my paintings from the week and a Randy Higbee Award.

In spite of the challenges, I did accomplish two goals, which were to create larger paintings en plein air and feel more comfortable working larger. At the Laguna event the organizers ask each artist to hang 3 paintings that were created during the week and artists are allowed to have up to 9 backup paintings that could be brought from home. With that in mind, I chose to use most of my time working on my 3 largest paintings and doing a few smaller works. Having less pressure to generate quantity allowed me to slow down considerably and I feel that my largest paintings were my strongest pieces from the week. I even won a Randy Higbee Award for my three paintings, which was a real honor. I'll post more photos of the paintings from the week for you to see as my time allows.

The beautiful structure that LPAPA had constructed for the show.

There were a lot of challenges for the organizers of Laguna Plein Air as well. The whole event was moved to the Aliso Creek Inn & Golf Course after the Laguna Art Museum decided not to host it any longer. Space had to be created to hang work and hold the Collectors Soiree. The organizers pulled it off though and the community turned out in force to support the show. It was a fun event and I'm very happy I was able to be part of it!