Outdoor Painters Society

(Note: The OPS has a website with more information about the group.) 

     The Outdoor Painters Society was formed in 1996 by David Moreland Bates and Bruce Peil.  The purpose was to provide artists with opportunities and incentive to paint outdoors, or "en plein air" as the French say.  Many people had expressed an interest in painting outdoors, but either lacked someone to go with (there is safety in numbers, especially for the ladies) or ready-made opportunities. The Outdoor Painters Society solved both those problems.  Our membership includes artists from full-time professionals to those just beginning to paint outdoors and tries to offer something to all the members. 

     Until recently the OPS had a limit of 100 members and a waiting list that usually numbered two dozen or more.  Now we have three levels of membership:  Artist, Signature and Master Signature, and no cap on membership. All members receive an electronic newsletter, can attend all events and are eligible to submit to juried exhibitions.  The dues are $40/yr for Artist Members and $50 for Signature Members.  Master Signature Members do not pay dues.

    Most of our paint-outs are anywhere from 1-day affairs to a long weekend of three days.  The majority of our members live in Texas although we have some in Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona , Louisiana, Arizona and Arkansas.  It has become our tradition to have one special trip in the fall of the year that lasts about a week and takes us to places like New Mexico or Colorado where we paint the fall colors and more dramatic scenery than we find at home. We don't usually paint together in December, instead having a Christmas party where we focus on eating very well and enjoying each other's company.

     Other benefits for club members have included occasional demonstrations by well-known artists and a library of art instruction videos, all of which are paid for by  the members' dues and directly benefit the members.  Past demos were done by John Encinias, Matt Smith, William Kalwick, Jr. and Ralph Oberg, and sometimes included critiques of members' works as well.

Here are three of our members painting in RMNP. Just another day at the office!

Starting your own group

     If you are an artist looking for such a group as ours, but don't live close enough to participate with us, I would strongly recommend that you get with others you know and form a similar group.  It doesn't have to be large or formal or even have a name.  And getting started is a lot easier than it first looks.  Here are a few things we've learned that may be of help:

• Until we recently changed the organization, we haven't had any formal structure to the OPS: just a treasurer to handle income from dues and expenses for the group, and a person to put out the newsletter.  Fewer administrative duties mean more time to paint.
    

• Be sure to provide members with a contact list of the entire membership so that they can create additional opportunities for painting with each other on their own.
   

• Finding paint-out locations is not difficult.  In fact, it's easier in the beginning because everyone has a few favorite places to paint.  But, after your group has painted those places several times, you may find them "painted out" so you'll need to always be looking for new locations.
   

• If your group goes to a location that has boundaries (like an arboretum or park) it's easier for members to feel like they're "painting together" than if your area is, say, "around Ouray, Colorado".  In such undefined areas most of your members may not see each other except at meals or some contrived gathering.  For this reason, when our trip is of this more loose-knit variety we make an effort to get together in the evenings .  And we sometimes have a "show and tell" near the end of a trip where we get to see each other's work and spend some time together.
   

• Cell phones are handy for contacting other members while on location.  And the small "walkie-talkies" are great when you're in two or more vehicles driving around looking for that perfect place to stop.
   

• Occasional exhibitions of members' paintings is fun, but can require quite a bit of planning and work to put on.
   

• We live in a part of the country that gets downright uncomfortable in the summer.  So in August we usually reserve a suitable room somewhere, hire a model, bring still life props and spend the day in air-conditioned comfort painting something besides landscapes.  But we're still working from life which we consider critical to development.  We usually do the same in February as well.  Something similar may work for you.

     I hope this helps inspire you to start your own painting group.  It's pretty easy to get started and it can be as simple or complex as your needs require and your time allows.  Good luck and happy painting.