Plein Air Painters of the Ozarks

Artist Eileen Dineley Baatz

Siloam Springs and its vibrant downtown provided inspiration for a variety of artists today. The Plein Air Painters of the Ozarks, a group dedicated to painting the outdoor beauty of Northwest Arkansas, spent several hours painting in Twin Springs Park. According to Wikipedia, "En plein air is a French expression which means 'in the open air', and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors."

Artist Kay Picket

Artist John Dillingham

The group, consisting of about sixty members, meets every Wednesday from Spring to Fall in a different Northwest Arkansas location. The members range in skill from amateur to professional. Most of them work with oils, some use watercolors, and some sketch. Several prominent Siloam Springs artists are members, such as Eileen Dineley-Baatz, Todd Williams, Jim Lewis, and John Lasater. Helen, the group's treasurer, enjoys sketching the artists at work rather than the scenery.

After spending time painting in the park, the group convened at the Cafe on Broadway for lunch, and then visited Local Flair Art Gallery. Some of the paintings created this morning, featuring the beauty and bustle of Twin Springs park and Broadway, may now be available for purchase at the gallery.

Kay Picket's charcoal sketch of the Main and Broadway intersection.

Eilieen Dineley Baatz's oil painting of the Twin Springs Park gazebo.