Painting Outside, Come Rain or Shine!

Thanks to a friendly collaboration between a small group of NYC plein air painters and Court Tree Collective, an artist-run gallery, a painting event was organized for a Saturday in May 2023 on the grounds of Industry City, a collection of former industrial buildings by the waterfront. (After industry had largely abandoned the buildings, they had been colonized by artists and artisans, and then slowly developers noticed - as usual - and it has become a hub of hipster-attracting breweries, bars, Japanese food hall, restaurants, bakeries, etc.)

The weather up until then had been dry and gorgeous and we were all excited to meet up to paint together and to share our process with visitors of that weekend’s Design Festival. Some of us went a week or two in advance to scope out views and even paint to get a feel for the light and location. I started this small oil painting on-site, and then finished it back at the studio:

Green Courtyard Staircase, Industry City, oil on canvas on archival panel, 9” x 12”

And this watercolor painting on another visit:

Trash Can Trio, watercolor on paper, 9” x 12”

But then, on the day of the event, we were less fortunate with the weather: it rained all afternoon with torrential rainfall at times. Luckily we all managed to find a sheltered place from which to paint outside views! A number of us set up under a large tent set up by Sahadi’s, a Mediterranean food market and restaurant, where not only were there some nice views, but access to yummy food and drinks, too! Check out this video with the sound turned up to appreciate how much it rained:

Adding to the miserable weather, it was chilly, too! Nonetheless, there was a feeling of camaraderie among us: an opportunity to share color and brush advice, give each other encouragement, and we bonded over enduring an outside painting situation that most of us would otherwise have avoided.

I chose to paint the colorful (fake?) hanging flowers decorating a walkway between Building 3 and 4.

Courtyard Hanging Flowers (Industry City), watercolor on paper, 9” x 12”

At the end, very few visitors actually came by to inspect our work or what we were up to (they probably thought we were a class!), which was a bit disappointing but understandable. We reconvened at the end of the day in the warm, enclosed comfort of Gun Hill Publick House, a bar that agreed to host us. Over refreshing draft beers and hard ciders, we spread out our paintings and were delighted to see what beauty each of us was able to eke out of such difficult circumstances.

Check out the other artists on Instagram:

Susan Greenstein (@susangreensteinart)
Janet Pedersen (@janetpedersen1243)
Amanda Kavanagh (@amanda.kavanagh)
Frieda Christofides (@queensgrl60)
Mari Renwick (@marirenwickstudio)
Alan Ramiro (@seethelines)
Megan Euell (@meganeuell_artist)
Rene Barkett (@barkettrene)