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P
lein Air outh
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YallComePaint.com
May 15-18
Historic Apalachicola, Florida
Plein Air South is a group
of plein air artist’s groups, organizations, individual artists, plein air event organizers, and related businesses who have joined together to highlight the plein air talent and resources of America’s Southeast!
The second annual Plein Air
South regional gathering will convene in Apalachicola May 15-18, 2017. The event features four days of presentations, demonstrations, instruction, vendor exhibition, and of course, painting outdoors!
Many organizations, artists, and vendors are working together
to make this a reality. We are thankful to the Florida Division
of Cultural Affairs, Visit Florida and the Forgotten Coast Cultural Coalition for their commitment to initiate this annual gathering of the Southeastern plein air community.
2017 Premier Plein Air South
Guest Presenter
Scott Christensen
Painting is not simply the passion of Scott Christensen, it’s his necessity, like breathing. Mind and body attune, he moves through the process of creating each landscape just as a river ows over rocks, and around islands, all the while
seeking a melli uous whole. After nearly three decades at the easel, Christensen is recognized around the globe, as evidenced by his invitation to show in Russia’s Ilya Repin St. Petersburg State Academic Institute for Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture. Christensen’s work embodies both tradition and innovation. His singular vision is deeply informed by the masters. Equally present in Christensen’s work, though harder to detect, are the effects of literature, music, and football. His net is cast wide on account of his scholarly curiosity and uncommon past. Largely self-taught, he came to art via a circuitous route.
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WWW.PLEINAIRFL.COM 800/378-8419
Born in 1962, Christensen grew up in Lander, Wyoming, a place of extreme geography and wild beauty. There his aesthetic developed. It was not until college, however, that he would recognize nature as his muse. The shift was precipitated by a personal catastrophe. While attending Chardon State in Nebraska on a football scholarship he sustained a severe neck injury. It left him unable to compete. Bereft,
Uniting Plein Air Painters
he sought solace in y shing and visiting his grandfather, a wheelchair-bound
amateur oil painter. The scent of oils stirred Christensen’s imagination, so he took a leap into the unknown and enrolled in art classes. He eventually earned a degree
Across the Southeast
in art education, but chose to paint instead of teach. Now he does both. Over the years he has pursued painting with the discipline he once brought to sports. Al- though nished at the easel, most of his paintings begin as plein air studies. They end up in prestigious gallery and museum shows, as well as in major collections, like Prix de West and in the permanent collection of Grand Teton National Park’s Craig Thomas Visitors’ Center. www.christensenstudio.com