The working boats at Johnson & Sons Fish Market make it a special spot to set up an easel.
The seafood wholesaler on Chuckatuck Creek is one of multiple scenic spots that will host 36 plein air painters from eight states for the Suffolk Plein Air Festival, Sept. 10-14.
In contrast to painting in studio, the French expression “en plein air” refers to painting "in the open air," the subject in full view.
"I'd say one advantage Suffolk has is we don't have the ocean, we have a lot of lakes and creeks and marsh scenes that are picturesque," said Sandy Waters, who started the festival with Barbara Harris four years ago. "This festival is attracting nationally and internationally known artists."
Artists, some from as far away as Louisiana, upstate New York and Florida, will use three days to select one of the locations that show off the versatility of Virginia's largest geographic city.
Spots near the water include Cedar Point Country Club, Lone Star Lakes Park and Bunkley's Grocery Store. For the first time, the historic Great Dismal Swamp, distinguished by its cypress trees, walking trails and Lake Drummond, is a designated site to choose from.
Cotton Plains Farms, popular wedding venue Meadowbrook Farm B&B and Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church are among the more rural spots. Bridgepoint Suffolk, a northern Suffolk hub for retail and dining, is a cityscape option.
Harris said in response to many of the male plein air artists expressing interest in painting industry, AMADUS Industries, which manufactures specialty agricultural equipment, has been added this year.
"A lot of the times with a building like that, it's the light, it's the character that can really make for a nice painting that says something about the community," she said.
Harris has traveled to France and Italy to paint, but her favorite spot is the bustling fish market at home in Suffolk that includes a crab and oyster dock.
Artists of all abilities, including youth ages 10 to 17, are invited to Paint the Taste, a speed paint event lasting 120 minutes. Cash awards will be given for the juried competition that begins at noon on Sept. 14. It coincides with the Taste of Suffolk Downtown Street Festival, a day of culinary creations from local restaurants, local craft brews, music, a car show and a plant sale from Suffolk Master Gardeners.
The finale for the Plein Air Festival is the ticketed Wet Paint Sale and Soiree held the evening of Sept. 13 at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts. All of the artists will attend with their completed works that will be judged by Gavin Glakas, whose paintings hang in the permanent collection of the U.S. Capitol, the capitol building in Richmond, the CIA and various private collections and museums.
Glakas is a Marylander who has visited Hampton Roads only once – while scouting locations for the portrait he painted of former Gov. Terry McAuliffe – and this will be his first trip to Suffolk.
In judging, "I always look for something different," he said. "So much plein air painting looks the same. It's all based on Impressionism because they were the first plein air painters, and I love Impressionism. But I’m always looking for someone with a unique take on something that doesn't look like they're trying to paint their version of Monet."
For the first time this year, the festival will give honorary awards named for Suffolk contributors. The best painting of the Chuckatuck area will receive the J. Dwight Bradshaw Memorial Award, named for the dentist in practice for more than 40 years. The Brothers' Trilogy Award, honoring three generations of a storied Suffolk family, will go to the painting that best uses groups of three. Betsy W. Brothers has an additional award for best use of light.
Harris also has an award named for her that will go to the artist who best uses purple, a playful nod to a color near and dear to her.
"Usually, my darkest dark in a painting is a dark purple. There are so many different shades of purple," said Harris, who has taught local art classes for 25 years. "When all else fails, I tell my students to use purple."
Visit Suffolk Plein Air Festival for more information.
