COLLABORATION
Multiplying Your Potential
By Cheryl LeClair-Sommer
When two friends and I decided to collaborate closely to paint together and exhibit our art as a group, we did not realize the potential payoff that would result. Our collaboration has produced unanticipated outcomes over the four years ago of this creative journey.
I met Lisa Stauffer, an artist from Duluth, Minnesota, in a workshop sponsored by a state-wide pastel society, a group of artists interested in painting with soft pastel. As the pastel society exhibit chairperson, I had coordinated the handling of artwork that Lisa and another artist from Duluth had occasionally submitted to the art exhibits. After the workshop, Lisa invited artists to paint outdoors in Duluth for a weekend along with her studio mate, Michelle Wegler, also from Duluth. I was happy to paint plein air (outdoors) with fellow artists – it had been difficult for me to locate fellow outdoor painters. Lisa then coordinated an art workshop in Duluth with a nationally known artist, which I attended. As Michelle, Lisa, and I became friends, we decided to form a small group of artists to paint outdoors together on a consistent basis. I jumped in with both feet, not knowing where this adventure would take me, despite the distance of 136 miles from my home to their homes in Duluth.
Art history is filled with examples of artists who collaborate in the process of creating art. Apprentices spent years learning their craft at the foot of the great masters. The Impressionists painted together frequently traveling to rural areas of France. Without collaboration, the Impressionist Movement may not have occurred. Their joint encouragement led to a separate salon exhibition, which eventually led to their acceptance into mainstream society. Today artists frequently collaborate to share studios, organize figurative painting cooperatives, and critique each others work.
The original purpose of our collaboration was to paint outdoors together, to enhance our safety, to critique each other’s work, and to exchange ideas on materials, equipment, and marketing. Quickly over time, our collaboration expanded to mentor each other in the creation and marketing of our artwork, to increase our travel opportunities to paint at different locations, and to exhibit jointly. Our efforts have resulted in the creation of a separate identity.
The three of us have named our group, “Plein Aire Lake Superior” (PALS). With our desire to exhibit jointly, we brainstormed themes and agreed on a joint exhibition of three views of the same landscape, titled “One View, Three Visions.” We agree on a painting location and paint the same scene together, which results in three different versions highlighting our artist similarities and differences. After we created and submitted our joint portfolio to various exhibition venues, and private art galleries, our exhibit of “One View, Three Visions”, has been exhibited at nine different locations in the last three years with more scheduled for the future. The public has found our exhibition theme unique providing insight into the creative thought process.
Working together, we have painted outdoors in extremely cold temperatures (minus 24 degrees F. in Grand Marais), in the rain, wind, and after dark. We’ve traveled to the southwest and throughout Minnesota in search of subject matter. By working together, we’ve been able to increase our exhibition opportunities at juried art exhibitions, which augments our sales potential along with each of our professional credentials.
My fellow collaborators have become such personal and lifelong friends - I feel so lucky to have found them. We travel, laugh, paint, and share our experiences. We lament our inability to meet the timelines for our personal artistic and marketing goals. We challenge each other to enter juried exhibitions that we would feel reticent to enter alone. With the shared costs and companionship, we have traveled to workshops, interacted with nationally known artists, and felt safe to paint outdoors. The encouragement and support of others has enhanced our personal feelings toward our artistic talent and bolstered our determination for future artistic growth.
So when you see three middle-aged women painting on Canal Park in Duluth donning headlamps after dark, stop by to view our paintings over our shoulders. You’ll enjoy seeing three visions of the same scene.
For more information, visit: pleinairlakesuperior.blogspot.com.
