Kane County Chronicle

In plein sight: Meet artists you’ll see painting around St. Charles area for Plein Air, starting Monday

Artists come from across the country for St. Charles’ 2nd annual event, Aug. 18-24

Chicago artist Don Yang (center) poses with event judge Bobbie Puttrich and his quick paint contest winning piece in Mt. St. Mary Park during the St. Charles Plein Air event in 2024.

Artists from across the country will flock to St. Charles for the weeklong Plein Air event.

The St. Charles Arts Council will host the second iteration of the outdoor art festival from Aug. 18-24.

Plein air is a French term meaning “in the open air” – exactly where 60 artists will be painting over the week at various locations in St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia and along the Fox River.

Spectators can watch artists capture scenes of Kane County first hand in public parks, downtown streets and riverfront paths, all week long.

California-based artist John Paul Marcelo came to town early, arriving at his parents’ home in Geneva Aug. 13.

Originally from the Chicago suburbs, Marcelo started painting at age 21 while attending Columbia College in Chicago. His first experience painting plein air was in Galena, where he said community members were very receptive to his work.

Marcelo said he was painting a sunrise over Lake Michigan in Chicago when he had an epiphany that he had never seen an ocean and decided to move to California in 2003.

Since then, Marcelo has become known for his oil painting on wood panels, blending influences of French and California impressionism with a focus on historic events and places that shape the future. Now, he paints full time on the streets of the San Francisco Bay Area and up and down the West Coast.

Marcelo participated in the inaugural event last year in St. Charles, where he sold three pieces.

“I really enjoyed it. ... This one is interesting because it’s focusing on the river,” Marcelo said. “It’s a different subject matter for me, because I usually paint the ocean or urban scenes, but it’s nice to paint something in the Midwest.”

Besides seeing his family, Marcelo said looks forward to meeting other artists and locals. He had quite a few watch him paint the dam from the Main Street-Route 64 bridge last year.

New Jersey-based plein air artist Marjorie Haley will also participate again this year after selling four paintings last year.

Haley has been painting for most of her life and began working in plein air about a decade ago. Now, she is a full-time plein air artist and self-described nomad, typically working out of an RV that she converted into a mobile art studio.

Each spring, Haley sets out on an art festival circuit across the country, where she paints anything and everything that moves her.

Haley’s go-to medium is oil painting, and she described her style as “representational impressionism.”

“I love going to these plein air painting festivals and participating, You meet a lot of other plein air artists, and one of the wonderful things about it, is it brings the public out to witness art created,” Haley said. “In this day and age of AI and computer-everything, this is an opportunity to go out and see somebody creating something without the use of technology.”

Haley described her process as loose and energetic, and it starts with something that moves her. Once she is struck by a scene, she gets her equipment from the RV and immediately starts applying brushstrokes to capture the energy of the scene, or as she puts it, “making mad dashes of color and light.”

“The nature of plein air painting requires you to paint quickly, catching the light before it changes,” Haley said. “I like to get a little loose and energetic when I’m painting.”

Haley’s process then switches to what she calls intellectual methods, taking perspective, values and composition into account. She finishes each piece by switching back to the inspirational and emotional method in which she started.

“I try to do something a little bit beyond just representational. It has to have a feeling in it,” Haley said. “You have to capture the air, the mood, the light– those intangible things that make it something more than just a photograph.”

Few artists have as much experience with plein air art festivals as Haley, who gave last year’s St. Charles event a glowing review.

Haley said what makes it special is the area’s balance of rural farm life, nature and architecture, as well as a community of people who are interested and eager to buy the art.

“I had a lot of fun last year. There’s a wonderful balance in that area of horse farms and architecture, and the other thing is the people,” Haley said.

An involved community is important to the artists, who incur a lot of expenses traveling to events, Haley said. Since last year’s event, the word got out that the people in St. Charles really appreciate art, which has brought even more talented artists this year.

Haley said she usually sells her pieces in person, straight from the easel, though some works can be purchased on her website, marjoriehaleyfineart.com.

Besides those from both coasts, local artists will also be participating in the event, like Chicago-based Don Yang, who will return after winning the quick paint contest last year.

“There was a lot of energy and a lot of support from the community,” Yang said. “It’s a great event. … We’ll have fun, and I hope that the people of St. Charles also have the unique opportunity to have fun watching our artistry.”

Yang said while he does paint a lot of urban scenes and busy streets in Chicago, he also loves to get out to suburbs like St. Charles, Geneva and Batavia to paint nature that can’t be found in the city. He said he is always looking for rural scenes of rivers, hills, parks, old homes and churches when he comes to Kane County.

“Some cities and towns are very fortunate to have very interesting, unique and architecturally significant subject matter,” Yang said. “Having those rich, diverse subjects really makes it more interesting and fun to paint in St. Charles.”

Yang said his specialty is oil painting and his style generally leans toward realism. However, when working in plein air, his work tends to be more impressionistic, given the more restricted palates and shorter time to work.

“There’s nothing like it – being out there on the river in the daylight and under the clouds,” Yang said. “It just cannot be compared to a painting from photographs or in a studio. … Plein air painting has a really unique quality that painting indoors can never match.”

Yang winning work last year was his depiction of a gazebo in Mount St. Mary Park. He said he’ll participate in the timed event again this year as well as the nocturne contest, which he missed last year.

“It’s quite thrilling, the fact that you are pushed to capture just a quick impression of things, as opposed to when you have so much time, you end up overworking,” Yang said. “Because light changes so quickly, if you fuss around too long, what you saw at the beginning of the painting is going to look different.”

St. Charles Arts Council co-founder and President Sue McDowell said the council sold about 100 pieces in the gallery during last year’s event.

“It’s really a collaborative event between the community and the arts,” McDowell said. “Everybody likes to see the artists here and support the St. Charles community. It is really really cool.”

The event grew from 40 artists in 2024 to 60 this year, and organizers are already looking ahead to next year, when they expect plein air to grow even more.

Artists can submit three paintings to hang in the exhibit at Baker Community Center during the Grand Reveal Party and Art Sale, a ticketed event on Aug. 23.

Plein Air is a juried event with a total of $5,250 in cash prizes in a variety of categories, including:

  • Best in Show: $1,000
  • Second Place: $750
  • Third Place: $500
  • Nocturne, First Place: $600
  • Nocturne, Second Place: $400
  • People’s Choice: $250
  • Best Emerging Artist: $500
  • Quick Paint, First Place: $600
  • Quick Paint, Second Place: $400

Artists’ works will remain on display in the community center through Aug. 24, when the gallery will be open to the public and remaining pieces will be available for purchase.

More on Plein Air is available at the St. Charles Art Council website, stcharlesartscouncil.org, or visit the gallery at 121 N. 2nd St., open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday.

David Petesch

David Petesch

David Petesch is a news reporter for the Kane County Chronicle, focusing on St. Charles