Surviving my first Plein Air competition turned out to be more fun than fear.

Growing up, I had a terrible fear of deep water. Even after years of swimming lessons and countless trips to the pool, I dreaded the deep end. It took years to overcome this fear. I was reminded of this when I agreed to be one of 10 artists asked to paint in the open air at the State Fairgrounds in Des Moines on August 9, 2019.

For the first-ever Plein Air at the Fair event, 10 artists were invited to paint at one of 5 predetermined locations on the fairgrounds during the Iowa State Fair. Over 1 million people visit the Iowa State Fair over 10 days each year. That’s a lot of people. Don’t get me wrong—I love to paint. And I enjoy talking to people. But as a studio artist, I’m not used to doing both. Plus, I have very limited experience painting outside, from life. This was a competition, and I would be up against really good artists who have years of experience painting plein air. I can count on one hand the number of times I have painted outside. It felt like I had agreed to be in a swimming meet against Micheal Phelps, and I was afraid of the deep end.

Ultimately, I said yes because I thought, “What’s the worse thing that could happen?”. The painting could be a total failure. I would be discovered to be a fraud and not a real artist. I might get sunburned. The idea of having thousands of strangers watching me as I worked was a bit unnerving. But I said yes, because I knew it would be a growth experience.

And it was! I like to compete (even though competition in the arts is oxymoronic, and not what art is really about), I did what any competitor would do. I practiced. I got back into painting with acrylics, a medium I had not used since college. I love to paint in oils, but oils dry slowly. Acrylic paint dries very fast.

I also scouted out the fairgrounds. I found the best vantage point at each location. I took reference photos, and even completed a practice painting of Pioneer Hall. So when we drew envelopes on the morning of August 9, I was ready.

I drew the Agriculture Building. (I was just happy that I had not drawn the Sheep Barn) With the help of my wife Theresa, daughter Betsy and brother Pat, I set up my easel at the base of the hill, northeast of the Ag building, and got to work. For the next 7 hours, I would be anchored to this spot.

I read somewhere that success or failure in plein air painting can be determined in the first 10 minutes. I fought through that, and completed the underpainting by 11:00 am.

My next big obstacle was myself. I like talking to people, so when fairgoers would stop to watch (which they did constantly) and ask me questions, I would engage with them. I like to make eye contact during a conversation, and never mastered the art of talking AND painting simultaneously. That hurt me, because by the time our chat was wrapping up, my acrylics were dry and I would have to squeeze more paint on the palette.

Around 11:30 am, a camera crew from Iowa Public Television stopped by for an interview. Rick the cameraman, and Laura the reporter did a fine job. But I felt surprisingly unfocused and distracted. My interview was not outstanding.

By noon, presidential candidates and the media entourage would descend on the Iowa Pork tent, across the street from my location. I was beginning to long for the solitude of my studio.

However, the viewers gave me energy, too. Larry Zach and his wife stopped by twice to chat. Larry is a renowned wildlife artist, and he gave me some excellent advice on values of color in the shadows. The Marlowe family from Newton, Iowa discussed our shared last name and whether or not we were distantly related. By late afternoon, some of the other artists were already finishing up, and I had miles to go.

At 5:00 pm, it was brushes down. There was more I wanted to do, but alas, the time was up. I turned in my painting. We were supposed to give our work a title. Jan, a member of the Fine Arts staff at the Fair, suggested “Unplugged”, since my painting featured a quickly rendered fire hydrant, and a woman on her cell phone. I liked it.

For the next week, fairgoers got to vote for their favorite painting. Though it was not my finest work, my painting won 2nd place.

I realized that the best part was not the finished painting, but the entire experience itself. It was exhilarating. I learned to work in acrylics again. I was reminded that when we challenge ourselves to do something outside our comfort zone, we get better. Taking risks and facing failure is necessary if we want to grow and become our best.

I owe a big debt of gratitude to everyone who supported me in the first-ever Plein Air event at the 2019 Iowa State Fair. I swam in the big race and didn’t drown.