Art in open air 'refreshing, relaxing'

Seated in folding chairs on the sidewalk in the cool shade of West Sandusky Street on Monday morning, the two women could have been meditating. Their silence emanated a kind of peace. Their eyes, focused, moved from the graceful, stately house across the street, to the image of that house they were drawing on paper. "We meet every Monday morning, go various places in Findlay, and paint or draw or use whatever medium that the person wants to," said Janealla Killebrew, president of Findlay Art League. They call themselves the Plein Air group. Plein Air means "out in the open air," she said. In front of a nearby garden nestled between two houses, several more ladies silently worked with pencils. All were focused on drawing the periwinkle, English ivy, sedum, ajuga and tiger lily. One of the artists was Pat Courtney, of Findlay, who works primarily with colored pencil. "It's refreshing and relaxing at the same time," Courtney said. "You can just put all your problems behind you and just focus on what you're doing. I find that, just, very relaxing." Beside her was 16-year-old Anna Miller, who started with the Plein Air group three weeks ago at the invitation of Courtney. "We've been doing it ever since," Anna said. "It's good for all ages, because I'm pushing 70," Courtney said. "It's not just an old lady thing or a kid thing." As Anna discussed her enjoyment of the practice, she sounded like her elders. "I find it like another outlet, you know, to just kind of sit down and center yourself. It's very peaceful. Gets you out of the stress and all that," she said. "And besides, I'm figuring out how to do something that I hadn't before." The Findlay Art League, founded in 1947, promotes visual arts and supports artists and people who make art. It has about 65 members and offers monthly gallery shows that are free and open to the public. The Plein Air group is just one of the Art League's programs, but it has a special place. "Artists need to practice. (Plein Air) kind of gives you an opportunity to hone your skills a little bit at working fast, because we only work for a couple of hours," Killebrew said. "It's a very fun thing to do." Even Killebrew, a lifelong artist and teacher of art, has times when things work out better than other times. "I've got some things done that I don't want anybody to see. They're not very good," she said. "But I've got a couple that I will probably put for sale at the Art League." Ultimately, the Plein Air group is about something else. "The motive is just to have an opportunity to make art and kind of to work with other people," Killebrew said. "We're a social group. We enjoy what we do. We share our work." Plein Air classes are open to anyone who is interested, and they are free. More information may be obtained by sending an email to findlayartleague@gmail.com Lee Blanton, 67, was wondering a few years ago what she was going to do as she approached retirement. "I started to have tremors," Blanton, of Alvada, said. "I thought I would start something new." She tried art. "I love it," she said. "It helps my tremor, too." "It's like a treatment for me. Physically, and mentally, too," Blanton said. "It calms me down."