Richard Henry, of Endicott, smiles with his nearly complete rendering of Bog River Falls just outside of Tupper Lake on Thursday, Oct. 3. Henry has participated in every Tupper Lake Plein Air Festival, painting the falls each time.
(Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)
TUPPER LAKE — The 5th annual Tupper Lake Plein Air Festival culminates tonight with a reception that celebrates outdoor painting around Tupper Lake.
After plein air painting all week, 27 artists — including 10 who are painting in the festival for the first time — will showcase their work at the Tupper Arts Center, located at 106 Park St. The reception opens at 5 p.m. and includes hors d’oeuvres and refreshments, according to Evie Longhurst, who serves as director of operations for Tupper Arts.
The event is free and open to anyone interested in attending.
Plein air painting refers to “the act of painting outdoors with the artist’s subject in full view. Plein air artists capture the spirit and essence of a landscape or subject by incorporating natural light, color and movement into their works,” according to the Wayne Art Center, which Tupper Arts’ cited in a Sept. 21 email.
By the time doors open to the public, the artwork will already have been judged, according to Longhurst. At 4 p.m., Lake Placid artist Ingrid Van Slyke will evaluate the work, although results will not be shared until the end of the reception, adding to the suspense. The public will also have an opportunity to make their preferences known, with a people’s choice award also up for grabs.
Mitchell Price, of Clayton, paints near Bog River Falls just outside of Tupper Lake on Thursday, Oct. 3. Price spent the week participating in the 5th annual Tupper Lake Plein Air Festival.
(Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)
The judge’s and people’s choice award winners are expected to be announced at the end of the reception, around 6:30 p.m.
Longhurst said that her favorite part of the week has been hearing positive feedback from the artists. She joked that she was “shockingly” well-organized this week. Longhurst listed some of the logistics she had been juggling throughout the week as she gave a tour of the staging area for festival participants at the Tupper Arts Center.
“I don’t know how I am this well organized, but it has made for a very good event. Everybody has been really happy,” she said.
Longhurst has been implementing notes she made to herself from last year, her first time organizing the festival. Among those was providing space and materials for artists to prepare their work for hanging.
“Many of the artists are staying in small motel rooms, and preparing framing can really be a hassle (in those confines), especially if they forgot a tool or something. So I decided that we would provide that (at the Tupper Arts Center) for any participant who is interested,” she said.
Evie Longhurst, who serves as director of operations for Tupper Arts, smiles in front of gallery paintings from past Tupper Lake Plein Air Festivals at the Tupper Arts Center in Tupper Lake on Thursday, Oct. 3. This is Longhurst’s second year organizing the Tupper Lake Plein Air Festival.
(Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)
Artist Barbara O’Brien, of Loudonville, said it was her second year attending the festival as she set up to paint Big Tupper Lake from the Bog River inlet, at the lake’s south end. She said she was drawn back from last year by the festival’s location and logistics.
“It’s just so beautiful up here and the way they run this festival, it’s very chill and everybody’s great,” she said.
“No pressure, it’s just a lot of fun,” O’Brien added as she smiled. She noted that the accommodations have been “great,” and the town “welcoming.”
Richard Henry, an artist from Endicott, has been attending the festival all five years it has run. Each time, he has painted Bog River Falls, and this year was no different.
“Each time, it’s unique,” he said as he was finishing up his rendering. He credited fellow artist Patrick McPhee, last year’s winner, with tipping him off to the festival. “He told me ‘It’s such a beautiful and unique area, you’ve got to come up!’ and sure enough, when I saw the area for the first time, I was taken aback,” Henry said.
After the reception, festival art will remain on display and sale through Sunday at the Tupper Arts Center. More information can be found at tupperarts.org.
