White Salmon artist brings together others for show in Stevenson

"A Sense of Place" came about as a natural evolutionary process of making art. Last year, White decided to create a list of artists that were interested in painting plein-air, which the dictionary describes as: "in the manner of certain schools of French impressionists painting of the late 19th century, engaged mainly in representing observed effects of outdoor light and atmosphere."

Each week the participants are notified by email of the date, time and location of the paint-out. Successful plein-air painting requires that the artist paint outdoors from life regardless of the cold or heat, wind or rain, insects or tourists.

The "list" includes about 50 to 60 individuals. It includes oil, pastel, acrylic, colored pencil and watercolor painters.

For this particular show at the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum, all the paintings were created on location, beginning in May of 2009.

The featured artists include:

Hope Stevenson, a plein-air painter, who has taught drawing and painting at the Bermuda Arts Center in Bermuda, the Mendocino Art Center, Civic Arts in Walnut Creek, Calif., the Hui No'Eau Art Center in Maui in addition to private workshops too numerous to list.

Elizabeth D. Spurgeon, a watercolor artist. She has taught architectural drawing and rendering at several universities and developed Studio Roma, a three-month art course taught in Rome, Italy. She says, "I developed Studio Roma in the spirit of the Grand Tour education, a way to expose people to a deeper understanding of another culture, with the built environment being a natural extension of the culture. When one has drawn something, they have come to understand it in a way like no other."

Eileen Holzman, a watercolor artist. She has been an art educator for over 35 years, and has taught children and adults how to express their creativity with various art media while explaining how the world's cultures have been recorded through their art expressions.

Donna Van Tuyl, pastel painter. She began painting in 2002 after making several career changes. She says, "Painting is about peace and pace, about getting out in nature. I love to walk with the dog and when I'm not looking for a painting, if finds me."

Todd Smith, an oil painter. He won first prize in the 2007 Pacific Northwest Plein-Air competition at the Columbia Center for the Arts.

Jan Muir, a watercolor artist. She recently moved back home to Husum, after retiring from a teaching career in Alaska.

Rachel Harvey, oil painter.

Last but not least, is the work of Bonnie White, the organizer of the show. Her watercolors have graced the short-term art gallery at CGICM several times over the past few years and have proven to be very popular with the museum visitor. She received first honorable mention and the People's Choice Award in the first Pacific Northwest Plein-Air Competition held in 2005.

All of the work is for sale with a portion of each sale benefiting the education programs and general operation of the museum. The art show is free and doesn't require museum admission.

For more information, call (800) 991-2338 or email info@columbiagorge. org.