Prepping for PACE16

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Palm tree, from the backyard

You might recall that the last time I attended the Plein Air Convention & Expo it was in Monterey, California. Last year we were in the middle of moving, so even though it was an hour away I couldn't attend. This year it's being held in Tucson, Arizona -- a state I've never been to! So I'm very excited to be going to the land of ... um, jumping cacti and scorpions and javelinas, oh my!

OK, I need to stop frightening myself by reading the posts from locals on the convention Facebook group. Focus on the painting. I've reread my notes from Monterey and made a checklist for myself.

My goals for the event?

Network. Meet potential Urban Sketchers symposium sponsors at the expo. Meet Randall Sexton, whose workshop I'm thinking of taking next month. Meet Tim Oliver and Richard Sneary, who are giving a talk on urban sketching.

Paint and sketch. Try plein air painting with Golden Open acrylics (will they work in the desert??).

Buy useful stuff. Possibly purchase a Strada easel, which I've had my eye on. Also some lightweight panels and a wet panel carrier.

See the town. I want to check out Saguaro National Park. Eat yummy food in downtown Tucson. Avoid the jumping cacti. And the scorpions, and javelinas....

Let's see how I do! (Oh, and the palm tree sketch at the top of this post was done from my backyard -- wanted to see how easily my existing easel setup would work for acrylics outdoors. It does the job, but it's a little clunky. Hence my desire for that Strada....)

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