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Painters capture outdoor, historical beauty in annual competition
Six artists traveled to Columbus to paint outdoor landscapes, historical architecture and grandeur nature for the Live Oak Art Center’s annual Paint Texas! Plein Air Contest, Wednesday, March 18, through Saturday, March 21.
Plein air painting, or painting outdoors, originated in France in the early 19th century and has cultivated a large modern-day following in Texas due to the state’s diverse landscape and historical architecture. The contest consisted of a general competition between paintings completed Wednesday through Friday and a quick draw competition for paintings completed within a three-hour period on Saturday morning. Columbus High School student Carnell Burns competed for the first time this year. Burns said he is more of a portrait artist but “wanted to give it a little try.”
“It was honestly eye-opening to a different perspective. It’s kind of a world outside of just being in the studio and painting, or just in the classroom and painting,” Burns said. “…There’s a big world you kind of just got to explore.”
The competing artists roamed the hills and streets of Columbus in search of intriguing subjects to capture. Michele Wile-Choate, of Leader, said she’s been participating in the contest for its five-year existence and that Columbus is her favorite place to paint. She set her eyes on the towering live oak trees characteristic of the town this year.
“I like plein air painting because I like being outside and observing the beauty that God has given us and try to represent it on the two-dimensional canvas,” Wile-Choate said. “I like painting in general just because it’s fun to try and evoke a notion from the viewer by looking at something that you tried to replicate in paint.”
Inspired by an over-20-year career as a transmission mechanic, David Ledet took a more industrial approach and focused on bridges and the faces of historical buildings. Ledet is from Louisiana and travels yearly, especially to Texas, to compete in plein air competitions. He said the state has more color and a Western and colonial style to its streets.
“I see a lot of older things in Texas that we don’t have. Our stuff gets washed away or banged up by hurricanes, and it gets rebuilt or reassembled [in] some kind of way,” Ledet said. “I see things, even automobiles, that just ain’t rottin’ away, and I see that with the houses and the barns. These historical elements, these fundamentals, they’re just there, like they’re everlasting.”
Live Oak Art Center’s Executive Director Erin Story previously told the Citizen that the purpose of the competition is to encourage artist and community engagement with the town. Burns said the Columbus community was “very inviting, warm and welcoming” to him as an artist.
“I met a bunch of new people,” Burns said. “When I was painting…I was trying to see if I was not trespassing or anything, and I just ended up making a whole new friend that invited me to come right back over.”
The Live Oak Art Center honored and awarded the plein air artists and works at an artist reception Saturday afternoon. The six artists that participated were Julie Sanderson of Friendswood, David Ledet of Louisiana, Michele Wile-Choate of Leander, Diana Gonzalez, Stephen Henry of Columbus and Carnell Burns of Columbus.
The winners of the general competition were: first place, Stephen Henry; second place, David Ledet; third place, Michele Wile-Choate; and honorable mention, Diana Gonzalez. The winners of the quick draw competition were: first place, Michele Wile-Choate; second place, David Ledet; third place, Diana Gonzalez; and honorable mention, Julie Sanderson.
The artists’ works will be on display and for sale in the Emma Hay Gallery at the Live Oak Art Center at 1014 Milam Street, Columbus, through April 25.
