Paint the Aspens 2010!
Painting Pinetop in October

We hope you’ll join us for this wonderful opportunity to paint plein air in the lush fall color of the White Mountains of east central Arizona. The Northeastern Arizona Fine Arts Association (NEAFAA), will be hosting this event in conjunction with the Arizona Plein Air Painters through our gallery in Pinetop, AZ, the High Country Art Gallery.  This will make the fifth year of Paint the Aspens, begun originally by Joyous Lake Gallery in 2005. The White Mountains are beautiful to paint in any season, but it is when the aspens turn that they are at their most beautiful! Opportunities to be juried for Awards or just to participate.
                Prospectus and Entry form  Copy and paste and then print

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 Regularly check out our  blog:
www.arizonapleinairpainters.blogspot.com
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We are excited to announce that next years APAP Annual Members Show in Sedona will run from March 31- April 13, 2011 at the Sedona Art Center.

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APAP Website Provides Exposure for Members

 The APPA Board of Directors is continually seeking opportunities for members to show their work and to become known to the state and regional art community.  The website is one of the primary tools for members to recognized and located.  An example of a recent success in this process was an opportunity for several members to be invited to participate in a Phoenix Airport Museum Art Show titled, “ Landscapes Under Foot”.  .  The mission of this museum program is “to showcase Arizona’s unique artistic and cultural heritage”. Ten Arizona plein air artists were selected by the curator to participate in this show of small landscape paintings. He started to look for artists to invite by doing a web search for plein air painters and immediately found our website.  By reviewing the images posted by members and looking at listed member websites he selected several APAP members to participate in this show which will run from April 3 thru September 26 in terminal 3.  Although the airport museum program does not provide for sales of art, tens of thousands of people will see this exhibit during the six month show.  Since all of the artists contact information is provide in the show brochure, this will be great advertising for those participating. This opportunity may not have been offered to those selected if they had not been an APAP member.

2009 was a challenging year for artists attempting to sell their work.  Many of you may be as frustrated as the Board is with the lack of sales at recent shows.  However, we understand that this past year was the worst year for gallery sales in over two decades and many galleries were forced to close. So we were not alone in our challenge. We encourage APAP members to not be too discouraged, but to use this slow time to effectively market yourself as an artist and the quality of your paintings.  We will continue to do our best to provide you with opportunities to have your work seen by the public through shows and paint-outs.  Keep your website image up to date with your best work and keep painting!

                                     David Haskell- APAP Board President

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Letter from the Vice President of APAP
Cody Delong
 

I was thinking recently about the times we live in.  Last week I went on a night hike with a friend.  Why a night hike in a blizzard you ask?  Because I got a new jacket for Christmas and my buddy had a new headlamp, and they needed to be tested out, of course.  The dogs loved the idea, although for some strange reason our wives elected to stay at home.  And FYI -- no headlamp shines very far when the snow is falling hard and heavy.  We got lost for awhile and our two-hour hike turned into three.  Luckily, my new coat performed better than the headlamp.

 Modern technology is truly amazing, and so are these times.  Even though there are a lot of bad things happening today – proliferation of scary weapons, disease, poverty, political corruption / ineptitude – there is also much to love.

 I love digital music storage, and my digital camera is just awesome.  Digital printing - so great, email (good or bad, it’s up to you), websites, social networking, modern vehicles and, if you have insurance, modern medicine.  Not to mention today’s superior art supplies delivered right to your door. 

 Excellent training is at one’s fingertips online or in workshops all over the world.  Globalization of markets and the opportunities to express your creativity have multiplied, and this is mostly good.  True, it’s a faster-paced world, and people are stressed by a multitude of things these days.  Still, we have freedoms, conveniences and opportunities that our grandparents never even dreamed of.

 Winter seems to be a time of extremes, no frostbite intended.  I’ve had a lot of visitors in my studio this month despite the weather, collectors and artists alike.  The collectors have been mostly upbeat, but with the artists it’s been a real mix.  Some have been very excited about their latest project or class, while others have been quite down, complaining about the economy and their lack of sales, etc.

 It’s true that in these times there are many more of us creating than collecting.  However, most of the artists I’ve heard complaining are not the struggling artists who actually eat or starve by their art.  Ironically the “complain-air” painters are generally the ones who don’t need to sell every day:  people who are already financially stable.  The most unhappy artists are those who judge their worth and success only in terms of sales.  They are missing the point – art is for the soul, not the wallet.

 Your quality of life is not entirely determined by the size of your bank account.  Sure, we all need enough to live on, but remember, you can’t take that Mercedes with you.  You can, however, leave behind some inspired art if you have a true love of it and your motives are genuine.  There’s nothing wrong with being motivated by sales.  It’s great validation.  Just make sure it’s not your only motivation.
 

As for the times, if you want to increase your sales, you have to build your name and your skills.  Both are long-term propositions and as a member of APAP, you have some wonderful opportunities at your disposal – shows, paint-outs, classes, camaraderie and so on.

 Sometimes when you participate in a show or event, just like when you invest in advertising, you don’t always experience immediate results.  There may not be instant gratification.  But you do get exposure and hopefully some feedback.  People see your work, they may be looking at your website or dropping your name at the dinner table.  They may be planning to buy something as soon as the economy improves just a little more.

Take advantage of your membership.  Get involved, participate, encourage a fellow artist, and keep painting strong – as though your work is in great demand – because it is, or should be, in your own heart.

 Brush the ice from your eyelashes and realize the opportunities of our times.

Cody DeLong
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Congratulations to Founding Member Linda Dellandre , she the won the Award of Merit at the Richeson75 Pastel Competition for the painting "Barn in the Corner".
She has also been invited to participate in Sedona Plein Air 2010.
Feb. 23- March 9th, 2010
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   The SunDust Gallery in Old Town Mesa presents the
Arizona Plein Air Painters
"Small Gems" 
APAP Winter Show!
48 W. Main St. in Downtown Mesa

Prospectus   
 

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Mark your calendars for March 6th, 2010 for our
 2nd Annual Hassayumpa River Preserve Paint-out and Show.
 This is a non-juried event, open to all APAP members.
 Please get down to the preserve during the next year, catching each of the seasons.
 We would like the 2010 show to really show off the Preserve in all its color and glory.