(Loved covering this event again and also all the photos I took that were used in the West Newsmagazine article!)
Not only
did the number of artists reach the full capacity, but there were a handful who
didn’t make it off the waiting list for this year’s Creve Coeur Plein Air Art
Festival. Meanwhile, the number of visitors to the Sept. 11 finale at Millennium
Park’s Tappmeyer House, also increased dramatically.
“I’m
thrilled with the trajectory of this event from last year’s inaugural event,”
Robert Morrissey, Creve Coeur Arts Committee Chair, said. “It’s a work in
progress, but we tweaked the lighting, a lot more artists signed up, and there was
such great talent that the judge said it was hard to choose just three.”
This
year’s judge, or juror, was St. Louis resident Carol Carter, who has been a
professional artist for nearly 50 years.
Carter’s early
background was a good sign of her judging capability. She spent a full seven
years of her career as a Plein Art painter before deciding to primarily work
inside of her studio. But she did recently judge a national watercolor show
event in California.
“I just
look for accomplished paintings that are well done and show the soulfulness and
individuality of artists. The quality of the paintings here were very strong,
so it was hard to decide.”
This
year’s Best in Show winner was 74-year-old Manchester, MO resident Gary
Beazley. After being last year’s Runner Up, Beazley won the blue ribbon and
$750 this time for his ‘Millennium Park 9/9’ watercolor portrait. The funds
were sponsored by the Kodner Gallery.
Beazley majored in art in college and since retired from being a long-time employee in printing industry to make a lot more money than so many starving artists. He’s done Plein Air events since 2014 and his background includes a good deal of oil painting. But Beazley developed a much greater passion for watercolors.
“I enjoy
being a landscape artist, and I’m not interested in being a neighborhood one
with buildings. I have painted this entire house (Tappmeyer Homestead) before,
but I prefer landscapes. I spent an entire week in this (Millennium) park,
walking around and learning to find views in places I never thought of before.”
“I felt
the work was sensitive, well-crafted, and was a great interpretation of a
landscape and not just a description of one,” Carter said of Beazley’s
offering.
The First
Runner Up red ribbon and a $500 prize from Selkirk Auctioneers and Appraisers
went to Annie Scheumbauer.
Her background includes a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa plus 31 years of teaching art. Scheumbauer has also participated in a good number of University City art shows and won a senior prize in a Webster Groves one.
Her prize offering was from Conway Park, named ‘Walking Ozzie.’
“I was
really taken by the pathways and the way the shadows were. Then, a woman comes
through with her dog Ozzie, and I also see geese in the setting. It all really
moved me!”
“It was a
great example of a painting that’s bold, splashy, dynamic, and representative
of a confident Plein Air painter,” Carter added.
Honorable
Mention’s white ribbon and a $250 prize from Doctors Satish and Nan Kulkarni,
went to Kim Bene for ‘Quiet Radiance.’
Nan
Kulkarni is also a prominent member of the Creve Coeur Arts Committee who was
involved in Town & Country’s Art Committee before they moved here four
years ago. She is the one who led the way for Creve Coeur to start its inaugural
Plein Air Art Festival last summer.
“It took
me a year to convince the city to start holding this event. This year went a
lot more smoothly than last year. Also, it’s been so much more popular this
year with six artists on the wait list at deadline time.”
Linda
Kusmer added that she loves being on the committee, which now includes
sculptures. In fact, one painting displayed ‘The Lion of Laverne’ from Laverne
Collins Park, named after a former long-time Creve Coeur City Clerk.
An added
bonus at this year’s event was an offering named ‘A Day in Conway Park,’
submitted by the youngest entrant, 11-year-old Adora Kushwaha.
Yes, the Creve Coeur Plein Air Art Festival indeed has a bright future!
