Plein air painters paint the Back Bay in less than 3 hours

The Newport Bay Conservancy hosted 30 artists Friday for a quick-draw event where competitors transformed blank canvases into finished paintings of the Back Bay within three hours.

Members and guests of the Southern California Plein Air Painters set up their easels outside the Muth Interpretive Center to illustrate the distinctive topography and native plants.

“There is nothing like painting in plein air,” said Kathleen Michele Williams, vice president of the plein air group and director of its art shows. “[In Back Bay,] the light is inspiring. It can can be dull and misty or bright with sharp shadows.”

Carla Bosch, 42, of Laguna Niguel took first place with her colorful rendition of the bluffs and winding waterway. She received the first-place blue ribbon and $100 from the event’s juror, Judy Schroeder.

“The water just draws one’s attention, so it was easy to choose,” Bosch said.

The South African expat started painting as a child, got serious about the art form 20 years ago and now paints full-time.

As someone who usually paints at home, Bosh said the quick-draw event was challenging because of morning breezes and midday temperatures.

“We were here very early this morning,” she said. “You’re normally exhausted afterward.”

Schroeder, a watercolorist who owns Schroeder Studio Gallery in Orange, said she enjoys the sense of community that comes with a gathering of artists. She chose Bosch’s painting because its composition naturally invites the eye to wander across the scene.

“It says, ‘Come here, I’ll tell you how to go through my painting,’ ” Schroeder said. “You can see the assured strokes in some and the tentative strokes in others.”

More than a third of proceeds from paintings sold at the event will be donated to the Newport Bay Conservancy.

Southern California Plein Air Artists will showcase hundreds of landscape paintings during the Back Bay Show 2018 from Oct. 12 to Oct. 21 at the Muth Interpretive Center, 2301 University Drive in Newport Beach. For more information, visit socalpapa.com.

Daniel Langhorne is a contributor to Times Community News.