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Masters to lead new plein air program for the ‘young at art’

By Staff | Oct 15, 2009

“It’s up to us to encourage kids to see and record simple beauty outside, and to perhaps turn their creative juices into a rewarding career,” said Ronaldo Macedo, one of the Islanders-Hawaii Plein Air Painters from Lahaina.

LAHAINA — “Plein Air for the Young at ART” is a two-part art program designed to encourage students ages 8-18 to explore the creative art of painting outside.     

Plein air is a French term meaning “outside.”

To give back to the community, West Maui Cultural Council and Islanders-Hawaii Plein Air Painters are offering this new program for young art students throughout Maui. 

The organizers hope that this type of program will help foster the idea of being an artist. 

Part I is a classroom session that can include a painting demonstration, a discussion about being an artist and an outside experience to watch the artist paint. These sessions will be conducted by professional plein air artists. 

Ten schools have been selected for the program.

By going outside, the artist encourages the students to “look carefully” at the visual scene — the plants, the buildings, the people, etc. — and see how the light, shadow reflections and colors affect the overall scene.

This careful scrutiny of mastering what you see is reflected in plein air artists’ work. 

The hope is that students look at the outdoors as an endless source of material to paint. By sharing the artists’ techniques, they get inspired and hopefully more driven to paint from nature.

Part II, scheduled for Oct. 25 from 1 to 3 p.m., will be a “paint out” and highlight young artists painting outside on location. It can be viewed as a “Plein Air Painting Afternoon with the Masters.”

The afternoon event will be held in Lahaina and include the opportunity for students to paint with our local plein air masters, which will be both fun and educational.

In this outside painting experience, roaming art experts will give students guidance and advice. 

Students will be given art supplies during the paint out, but may bring their own supplies if they prefer. 

A reception will be held at Lahaina Cannery Mall, where the students’ paintings will be displayed. The general public is invited to attend.  

Students ages 8-18 can complete an application to be considered for the paint out. There is no prerequisite that a student must have attended a classroom session. 

Twenty-five students from schools throughout Maui County will be selected to participate in the event.  Applications are available at the Maui Plein Air Painting Invitational website at http://mauipleinairpainting.com. 

The deadline to apply is Oct. 16. In addition to completing the application, students need a teacher’s recommendation, a parent to accompany them during the event, and a signed photo and video release waiver. These images may be used in future marketing and public relations for the “Plein Air for the Young at ART” program. 

For more information, contact Lois Reiswig at 665-1491 or lois.reiswig@yahoo.com.