PACE25 – the 12th Annual Plein Air Painting Convention & Expo took place in late May in Reno, NV. Each afternoon after all the day’s presentations and workshops and all day on the final day, participants go out somewhere to paint. Imagine 600-800 painters at one location. It can be challenging!

After years of participating in these events, my painting buds and I avoid the crowds by painting at the designated locations on different days than the masses. This year’s highlight location was the spectacular Lake Tahoe/Sand Harbor.

After scouting the location, we set up just below a boardwalk with a great view and began painting. After about one and a half hours, I was pleased with the result and began to pack up. There was a tap on my shoulder, and a young woman from Mexico City who spoke no English held up her cell phone with a rough translation as follows:

“Hello. My fiancé and I have watched you paint the whole time from the boardwalk. We love the painting, and I want to buy it for him as a birthday gift and a memory of our visit here. Is it for sale?”

I replied that it was and gave them a price which they readily agreed to, but I couldn’t give them a “wet” painting at that time. I needed to take it home to let it dry, varnish, and frame it. The fiancé then gave me a cash down payment. Two months later, I shipped the finished work and received a wonderful note of thanks.

Plein Air painting experiences are a wealth of interesting things that have happened during the process – selling “off the easel” are the best!