by Barbara Torke

The “original” Outsiders on a painting trip in Alma, Colo. L-R, back row, Gailen Schmidt, Carol Koutnick, Wilda Fortune, Sheri Balke, Arleen Ruggeri. Seated, front, L-R Mary Ellen Schwenk, Geri Harris.  Photo courtesy: Mary Ellen Schwenk

Cedaredge, Colorado [Summer 2001] Plein aire painting means literally, painting in plain air. It entails adversity as well as beauty. Artists have to love constantly moving light and shadow, the breathlessness of grand skies that change from one moment to the next, and wind, sunlight and rain.

The ultimate task is to pick, from all that grandeur, the impression—the thought—the image—that is the one to paint.

The Outsiders are plein aire painters. It is unusual to find a group whose compatibility makes it possible for them to travel—and paint—together. Loving the out-of-doors and the challenge of light and shadow, seasonal color and locational mood, makes the group of six women unique, and their work exciting. They observe, interpret, and record their insights wherever they go. This environment might be in Geri Harris’s back yard (the Colorado Monument), or Wilda Fortune’s cabin on Grand Mesa. They set up easels in the shade, or hold sketchbooks in hand while standing on snowshoes. They have packed into the Colorado mountains with a llama train, snowshoed onto Grand Mesa, and rented a van in France. They are not easily intimidated by climate, weather, distance or their chosen media.

A class in figure drawing introduced the women. At the end of the class, their enthusiasm led to a painting group at the Western Colorado Center of the Arts in Grand Junction, which still meets weekly to practice skills necessary to plein aire—observing, organizing, rendering and practice. They developed a showcase of work and became the Outsiders with their first show at the WCCA. Their work has shown in exhibits in Grand Junction, Moab and Denver. Arlene Rugerri is a signature member of four watercolor Societies. Her watercolors are vibrant and colorful—and full of exciting detail. Wilda Fortune is the past president of the National Western Colorado Watercolor Society. Her paintings are innovative and fresh. Sheri Balke exhibits striking and delightful watercolors. Geri Harris, whose background as an art teacher keeps fresh her sense of spontaneity, paints in several media. Gailen Schmidt has a dynamic sense of rhythm in her landscapes. Mary Ellen Schwenk is multi-versatile and adept at multi-media. Each Outsider has distinctly unique qualities and style.

The group has taken many art classes together. They critique and analyze the art they produce—sometimes in a snow-bank or along a hillside. The Outsiders have painted in Utah, the Colorado Rockies, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and France. Mary Ellen Schwenk shares her experiences of the trip to France—where the group rented a restored country home in the South of France, packed a rented van and painted the little villages, seaports and the coast of the Mediter-ranean—with a selection from her journal: