Plein Air- Kensington Nocturne

Practice Plein Air at Night in Kensington!

Sections of Kensington are still reminiscent of Hopper’s paintings from almost 100 years ago.  He sometimes painted in-between times of day, giving his work a mysterious aura.  

“Hopper's painting represents a borderline situation. “Gas” is set at the frontier between day and night, between civilization and nature. The gas station has the appearance of a last outpost, where the human realm gives way, across the road, to the anonymous realm of nature. The edge of the woods rises like a dark wall in which no individual tree can be discerned. But our eye returns again and again to its warm hue. The bright, almost pure white fluorescent light in the gas station, in contrast, is almost painful to look at, and the eye shifts to the ribbon of road leading out of the picture to the right. The highway apparently ends here, disappearing into the woods - not a promising location for a gas station. The last car seems to have passed long ago; the attendant is shutting down the pump, and soon will turn off the lights and lock up for the night.” (edwardhopper.net)

Like Hopper, we will try our hand at painting between sunset, twilight and darkness.  Our paintings could turn into nocturnes but a pleasure of plein air painting is that one never knows which impressions will ultimately stick to the canvas. We might be able to catch a similarly in-between time of day in a little town full of scenes reminiscent of Hopper’s subject matter. Up the street from where we meet is a canopy overhang gas station built in the 1920’s. 

This is also an opportunity for painters to begin a painting, or gather inspiration for their Kensington category Labor Day show entries.

Location: 

Kensington Train Station, 3701 Howard Avenue, Kensington, Maryland 20895

We will meet in the parking lot at 8:00.  

Map coordinates: Latitude: 39° 01' 36.59" N

Cost: Free 

Number of registrants: Up to 25 members and guests (Members may bring 1 guest.)

What to expect: We will check in at 8:00 pm at the Train Station and gather name tags, snacks and water, and maybe pair up if you want to paint somewhere in the neighborhood away from town center and streetlights. Participants can spread to different locations in the town but please be safe, hopefully with a fellow painter, and on the sidewalk. Please do not stand in the street or close to train tracks to paint.

What to bring: Paints, substrate, easel, stool, optional clamp on light (book lights work well)

Getting there: This location is accessible by car only at this hour.

Parking: Parking is available for free in the train station lot or on the street. If you'd like to try to find a ride or carpool with other participants, please post a note in our members-only Facebook group.

Photos: Photos are permitted.

Rain date: Event will be held rain or shine.

Questions: Contact Lynn Lewis at lynnlewisstudio@gmail.com.