Marysville, Arlington artists to put natural work on display

A group of local plein air painters will soon be showing off some of their latest outdoor pieces of art on Camano Island.

A group of local plein air painters will soon be showing off some of their latest outdoor pieces of art on Camano Island.

Approximately six artists from the Marysville and Arlington areas will join their fellow “Roaming Artists” during an art show Sept. 5 and 6 on Camano Island at the Camano Center (141 N. East Camano Drive).

The group of primarily Stanwood and Camano Island artists will be selling recently completed paintings, ranging in medium from watercolor to oil, at the show, said artist Norman Kearsley.

“They have to be paintings that they’ve completed themselves,” Kearsely said. “There’s no painting on site, but each artist will have a six-food by four-foot area where they can sell their paintings.”

Plein air painting refers to the location and subject matter — usually outdoors or in the “plain air” — an artist paints.

The group’s name, the Roaming Artists, comes from their nomadic nature.

Kearsely said the members of the 35-person group paint a minimum of six locations throughout the summer.

Locations include homes, gardens, mountains and state parks.

“We get invited to places and we just paint them,” he said.

Marysville artist Joan Penewell will be the 2009 featured artist at the show.

Pennewell has been painting with the Roaming Artists for eight years, and has improved her skill dramatically within the past few years, Kearsley said.

Her watercolor pieces will be the focal point of the show, he said.

The group will also hand out a People’s Choice award and raffle off the 2008 award-winning piece by Camano Island resident Bob Paczkowski.

Paczkowski donated one of his watercolors entitled “Scavenger Hunt” to organizers of this year’s show.

One of Pennewell’s pieces, “Tulip Fields,” will also be raffled off.

Raffle tickets will cost $1.

The show will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. The event is free to attend.

For more information about the show, call 360-629-2572.