Lakeside may have as many styles of painters as they have styles of art.
Cynthia du Bois and Sunny Sorenson, two lakeside artists, prefer their style of painting out in the open – bugs, wind, and all. As founding members of the Plein Air Painters of Jalisco, their group is gearing up for their yearly exhibition on March 16.
“En plein air,” a French term meaning “the act of painting outdoors,” became popular with the impressionists in 1800s, at the time paints were put into tubes. Suddenly, artists could take their paints and easels outdoors to paint instead of being confined to their studios. Today, plein air is a popular style of painting worldwide.
Says du Bois: “The plein air process not only entails painting in open air, but completing a painting in one sitting. Granted, some painters will opt to touch up their paintings in their studios. Plein air offers us retirees a chance to be creative and outdoors at the same time. It’s so healthy and sure beats watching TV all day.”
Many of the nine artists who make up the painting group are the group’s founding members. Some are also members of Ajijic Society of the Arts (ASA), such as du Bois.
“When we established our group four years ago, we agreed that 75 percent of our work would be done outdoors,” she says. “Any tweaking that’s done in the studio using photos or such, accounts for the other 25 percent. A main attraction to plein air is that natural light is optimal and one simply can’t get the same effect from painting in a studio.”
Sorenson, the point person of the group, assembles their yearly exhibit. “We limit the pieces to six per artist. Since seven artists will be showing, we’ll have about 40 pieces in all.
When Sorenson was a member of ASA and partook in one of their open studios, a member came by, saw her paintings and suggested they start a plein air group. Later on, a few of them were painting from the roof of a restaurant and came up with an outline for the group.
“We decided, no meetings,” says Sorenson. “Getting a group of artists together is like herding cats. Plus, meetings take away from the time we’d rather spend painting.”
Says du Bois: “As a group, we paint one to three times a week. We also take day and overnight trips for concentrated painting. In the fall, we paint the wildflowers across the lake, at Hacienda de Taos. A few years ago, three of us traveled to Cuba.”
Adds Sorenson with a smirk, “Recently, we drank and painted our way through Tequila.”
With a BA degree in studio art from UC Davis, Sorenson lived in California’s Western Sierras, where she has a cabin. “I return every summer and paint to my heart’s delight. It’s my favorite place to paint. The more one goes outdoors to a place they’re familiar with, the easier it is to paint that place. Famous plein air painter Kevin McPherson paints the same scene, morning, noon and night, at different seasons.”
For her latest painting, Sorenson spent three hours in the hot sun at the Wednesday tianguis. “I like the mental challenge that the tianguis provides. I think about my focal point and then edit out cars, people — extraneous stuff that I don’t want to include.”
She continues, “Since I taught life drawing for many years, I’m familiar with all parts of the figure. I can go back and add a person in my painting from memory. Only in the last 13 years I’ve been painting outdoors, using pastels. I was a backpacker and used to take photos from which to paint from, but realized the photos didn’t capture the scenes in their true nature.
“The disadvantage to painting outdoors is the wind, which can blow your canvas off, or bugs flying into your painting. Then there’s the unexpected, like when I was painting cows that were standing perfectly still. Suddenly they all started coming toward me. I literally had to pack up my stuff and hide behind a bush because I didn’t want to deal with them. I’ve since learned that the best way to paint cows is when they’re behind a fence.”
Du Bois’ attraction to Latin countries are their cityscapes, especially the crumbling buildings. “I tend to have more of a romantic relationship with my subject matter. I’m trying to express the poetry of the old crumbling building and the story it evokes.”
Born in Santa Cruz, California, du Bois lived her adult life in Los Angeles, where she started out in fashion at the Fashion Institute. After raising four kids, she shifted to interior design.
“In 2003, we moved to San Miguel de Allende for a year so that my kids could experience another country and study Spanish. We returned to L.A. so that my youngest could finish high school.”
Once her children were established in college, in 2010, she moved to Ajijic – the same year Sorenson also arrived in Mexico.
For du Bois, an added attraction to plein air is the social element. “While I’m painting, people come up and talk to me. The Mexican children want to touch my brushes. I was painting wildflowers at my friend’s ranch when her horses came up to me, and one started licking my paint palate. It was actually quite beautiful but, being that I paint with oils, I did have to use a napkin to wipe the oil from his nuzzle.”
Plein Air Art Reception: Friday, March 16, 3-6 p.m. at Sol Mexicana, Colon 9, Ajijic.