THE PLEIN AIR PAINTING FESTIVAL : takes place Sept. 27-Oct. 4 from 11am-5pm, all over SLO County. There are film and poetry events, collectors’ party, music, kids activities, and much more. Pictured is Robert Sandidge in action. The SLO Art Center is located at 1010 Broad in downtown SLO, on the west end of Mission Plaza. The Art Center is festival headquarters all week, offering painting maps and helpful information to festival-goers. Some of the participating artists: Ken Christensen, John Deckert, Myra Knapp, Juan Pena, and Shirley Pittman to name a few. All work is for sale, as this is the Art Center’s largest fundraiser of the year. Info: sloartcenter.org or 543-8562. Credit: PHOTO COURTESY OF SLO ART CENTER
IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO ENTER THE SHOW!: Do you own a classic, a custom café racer, or a modern classic motorcycle? The Central Coast Classic Motorcycle Club will accept show entries up until the morning of the event, on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 1771 Corbett Cyn. Rd. in Arroyo Grande. Enter your bike in one of three categories (concours, driven, or display) and participate in contests like a slow drag race (who can go the slowest without tipping over?), kick-starting contest (will your bike start in one kick?), oil-leak contest, smoothest-idle contest, and best- and worst-sounding-bike contest. Find an entry form as well as judging sheet at HYPERLINK “http://www.centralcoastclassicmc.com” www.centralcoastclassicmc.com. Headquarters for the event is Mission Inn (773-6020) in Pismo Beach, which is offering discount accommodations for event attendees.
New Times What’s going on at this year’s outdoor painting festival?
Johnston The Paint Out on Saturday morning is one of the great treasures of the Central Coast. Seeing all those painters, from all over, in this two-block radius, in all the nooks and crannies downtown, painting in doorways, by the creek, and on street corners, is magical to watch. To be able to go from artist to artist and see them in their process is just amazing. Then they go up on auction when they’re still wet. It’s an amazing, dynamic, exciting event.
Johnston We are doing the concert outdoors, under the stars, on the Art Center lawn. We wanted a quality musician who embraces the spirit of classical music. Plein air painting comes from the impressionist era. The French impressionists started the plein air movement.
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New TimesTell me more about the Plein Air Poetry event.
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Johnston It has been going on in SLO for awhile. The poets have put out a book of Plein Air Poetry. What makes it unique this year is we are asking the poets to go out with the painters to be inspired by the same vista. On Thursday night we will have the [corresponding] painting next to them as they read their poetry.
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Christy Heron can be reached at cheron@newtimesslo.com.
