On November 7, 2020, Neil Sherman and organizer Allison Eklund teamed up to host a Zoom workshop for members out on Artists' Point in Grand Marais, Minnesota. Using lessons learned from Mini-Workshops during Plein Air Grand Marais, we were able to combine digital tech with analog painting for an informative, interactive painting workshop. Two iPhones, two iPads, a lapel mic and industrial-strength car battery and AC charging station helped make it happen despite the chilly weather. This successful workshop bodes well for future educational and social programming as we all look for ways to stay motivated and connected during the pandemic. Stay well and keep painting, everyone!

Several months have passed, and the world has been in a state of pandemic paralysis. OPM pivoted to dual-track programming, including livestream or video conference activities for board meetings, membership meetings, and our first-ever members' workshop with both in-person and video conference participation.

Painters attending at Kami's gorgeous property near Stillwater, with her home, studio, and location of St Croix River School of Painting, overcame pandemic anxiety, excessive heat and thunderstorm warnings to be rewarded by a perfect morning workshop in the shade looking toward her subject: a giant cottonwood tree at the edge of an expansive marsh.

Many thanks to Kami and to those who attended in person and online. Now we know: We can have it all! Flexibility is key for organizations like ours during unprecedented planning challenges posed by the pandemic. We can do this.

*What is a landscape felter? Grand Marais, Minnesota artist Elise Kyllo pushed the limits in her felted wool creations, hauling dyed wool and felting needles on skis to "paint" felted wool landscapes out in the winter wilderness.

Photos from OPM's first organized painting trip to Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Some of us arrived by way of New Mexico: from Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Edgewood, with stops at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, Echo Amphitheater near Ghost Ranch, and for me, plenty of horses to paint and ride. This fantastic trip filled with camaraderie, drop-dead gorgeous scenery, and painting adventures deserves to be repeated!

Every year for ten years, hardy painters from Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota and Ontario have gathered at YMCA Camp Menogyn to paint the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in the heart of winter. This year was our coldest ever, with daytime temperatures as low as -34F. But the good company, good food, warm cabins and spectacular scenery more than compensated for extreme-cold painting conditions. We're already excited for next year.

Photo credit and thanks to Christopher LaForge, Poetry and Photography

We had spectacular weather for the Quick Paint this year. We also added an Open Class of participants who competed for the "Art on the Rocks" award, with votes cast at the traditional display of finished paintings on the rocks along East Bay and artists' photo op. Professional photographer Dennis Chick took some wonderful photos during the 2-hour timed competition and we're grateful for his permission to post them. To contact him for prints or copies, please email him at dchickphoto@gmail.com. Visit his web site at www.dennischick.com.

It doesn't get any better than this:  Bright sun, cool breeze, and all the brilliant colors we associate with Plein Air Grand Marais in September.  Jack Dant won today's vote for daily finalist in the Artists' Choice competition. Tonight might be our best chance of seeing (and painting?) the Northern Lights.

It was a typical September day in Grand Marais for painters during Plein Air Grand Marais: a little rain, sun, wind, and rainbows. Carl Bretzke is today's finalist for the Artists' Choice award. Tonight is our Night Painting event downtown. Stay tuned for pictures, and maybe a glimpse of the Northern Lights.