You may not have made it to Maine for Fall Color Week, the Publisher’s Invitational event that PleinAir magazine publisher Eric Rhoads hosted earlier this month, but this video gives you a taste of it.
“The colors were richer and more vibrant than last year as we painted Acadia National Park and the beautiful Schoodic Peninsula area,” says Rhoads. “Lots of time was spent painting rocky cliffs along the ocean, colorful tree-lined streams, lobster boats, and lighthouses in quaint harbors.”
A participant paints on the Schoodic Peninsula during Fall Color Week.
The painting opportunity drew 67 artists from as far away as Florida, California, and even Africa. They painted by day, stayed together in accommodations at the Schoodic Institute, and painted from volunteer models at night, while participants Rick Wilson, Debra Joyce Dawson, Turner Vinson, and Debra Reed sang and played music. One evening, Joe McGurl stopped by to give an interesting and informative presentation.
There are a number of people who make it a point to attend nearly every Publisher’s Invitational event Rhoads organizes. He puts together a yearly outing to the northern reaches of New York’s Adirondack Mountains each spring, and some regulars have also traveled with him to Cuba. A New Zealand trip is sold out and scheduled for late February. But it is far from an exclusive club; there’s always a great mix of newbies, regulars, advanced painters, and developing artists.
Brian Smith explains why Fall Color Week is so successful.
“As a newbie I was immediately embraced and made a part of the family,” one artist offered. “I didn’t know what to expect because they said we were staying in dorms. I envisioned shared showers and bunkbeds. It was really undersold because they were not dorms at all, but apartments. It was much better than I expected.”
