The Wednesday Group Relishes Creativity En Plein Air

More than a dozen years ago, painter Frank Sofo was approached by Jim Hayden, then board president of the Artists Alliance of East Hampton (AAEH), who asked if he might be interested in leading a weekly figure drawing workshop at Ashawagh Hall in Springs.

It was an intriguing idea, but Sofo was reluctant. He knew that such a workshop could be problematic, not only because models don’t always show up as scheduled, but also because of the cost — both to pay the models and rent the space required for the weekly sessions.

So he offered up another idea instead.

“In the back of my mind, I wanted to go do plein air painting,” Sofo recalled in a recent interview at the Gardiner Mill Cottage Gallery, a village-owned museum and exhibition space on James Lane in East Hampton. “I was taking a Janet Jennings class — me, Alyce Peifer, Bobbi Braun, and they were saying that they were going out painting.

“So we went a couple of times, and that gave me an incentive,” he added. “When Jim approached me, I said ‘I want to do plein air painting.’ He said, ‘You’re on your own.”

Though in truth, Sofo was not exactly on his own. He found a kindred plein air spirit in fellow AAEH member and painter Gene Samuelson.

“Frank had approached me about the figure drawing class,” said Samuelson, a self-described money man who had served as AAEH’s treasurer and had similar concerns about the cost of renting space and hiring models. “I said, ‘Wait. It doesn’t cost anything to paint on the street.’”

So Sofo and Samuelson teamed up and began reaching out to other like-minded creative souls. Before long, they had rounded up a collection of local artists all interested in taking their skills to the great outdoors. They put a plan in place and The Wednesday Group, Plein Air Painters of the East End was born.

“Once I started painting outside, I realized it was nice to do in a group,” Sofo said. “So that really was the incentive to start it.”

The Wednesday Group takes its name from the chosen day of the week when, from early spring through late fall, members bring brushes, easels, paints, paper and canvas and rendezvous at various locations across the South Fork to paint the views. Today, there are 25 members on the group’s roster and because they work outdoors with plenty of fresh air and space between them, it turns out that The Wednesday Group has been an ideal way to stay creative (and safe) throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When Frank and I started it, most of the core members were from the Artists Alliance,” explained Samuelson, a resident of Amagansett. “Now, quite a few are from as far away as Southampton, though most are in East Hampton and there are a couple from Montauk.”

The results of the artists’ weekly plein air meet-ups are now on full display in “The Wednesday Group — 12 Years Strong” at the Gardiner Mill Cottage Gallery. The exhibition, which was organized by the gallery’s curator, Andrea Bejsovec, opened April 8 and it features a wide selection of plein air works created by 18 member artists. Rendered in watercolors, acrylics, oils, pen and ink, or whatever medium the artists choose to work in, the pieces are as varied and unique as the personalities and interests of those who created them.

For example, Samuelson is a self-proclaimed “buildings and tractors guy,” and his plein air watercolor paintings are dominated by those subjects — particularly those with a rustic edge to them.

“I attribute it to art school,” explained Samuelson, who attended The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. “I had a watercolor teacher and we used to go out on trips. We always seemed to gather at broken down old buildings. There’s something about them.”

Just as in real estate, the mantra in plein air painting is “location, location, location” and for Sofo and Samuelson, The Wednesday Group season begins in April, when they set out to scout likely locales for the upcoming year.

“We create the schedule, either it’s places we’ve been before or we ask the members if they have places they’d like to go. Then I publish the schedule,” said Samuelson, who encourages artists who live to the west to suggest possible painting sites closer to their homes.

The group also enlists the help of East Hampton Town Clerk Carole Brennan, to secure parking permits for artists who don’t live in the town and the length of the actual painting season varies, depending on the cooperation (or lack thereof) of Mother Nature.

“It’s a hard question to know, and based on weather,” Samuelson noted of the specifics of each season. “We start as early as late April, and if the weather holds, we’ll paint into November. Sometimes The Wednesday Group becomes the Thursday group. We try to be as flexible as we can. But I must admit, we’re rather fair weather painters. When it’s bad weather or too cold, we stay in our studios.”

“Though two of our painters, Aurelio Torres and Bob Sullivan, paint through the wintertime. They text me and say, ‘Do you want to come out?’” said Sofo, who adds that in terms of working outdoors, The Wednesday Group has been somewhat ahead of its time. “Plein air painting is one of the biggest growing movements in art. There’s a guy in Montana who goes out with his easel in knee deep snow. I don’t know if I have it in me. I sketch from the car.”

The conditions and elements can, indeed, be challenging when painting on location, and for Bob Sullivan, who works in oils, when heading out into the field, it’s important to do so with a plan in mind.

“I’ve got to get stated early and I work until five,” said Sullivan. “The biggest detriment to me is the wind. I can take the cold and the rain, but the wind blows the canvas all over.”

For Sullivan, a graduate of Pratt Institute and former art director who began plein air painting around 2009, working outdoors is all about capturing the natural beauty and light of the East End.

“The water, the Atlantic and the bays are my first go to,” Sullivan said.

Creating art on location is one challenge, but having the results seen by the wider public is another, and The Wednesday Group has relied on various East End venues to provide members with exhibition space over the years— including Ashawagh Hall, the Water Mill Museum, and The Nature Conservancy, among others. Last summer, the group had its first show at the Gardiner Mill Cottage Gallery, which first opened as an exhibition space in 2019.

“What’s been nice is when the East Hampton Historical Society opened the Moran House, they invited us to go and paint and sketch and we painted there,” said Teresa Lawler, another member of The Wednesday Group. “It was exciting.”

Lawler, a former teacher who grew up in Montauk, is one of the more recent members of The Wednesday Group, and she finds the camaraderie helpful, noting that often, it’s the process, not the product, that matters in art.

“When I retired from teaching art at East Hampton High School, I joined the Artist Alliance and asked if I could join The Wednesday Group four or five years ago,” said Lawler, who works in ink and watercolors. “I have a summer life and a winter life. My summer life is to join and paint with them. It’s so supportive to have groups of people to paint with. In my winter life, I do fused glass and I often take some of the paintings that I’ve done with them and I will make them into glass.”

Every level of artist — from beginner to professional — is invited to join the weekly plein air sessions. In addition to the camaraderie, receiving input, advice or inspiration from others is another important aspect of The Wednesday Group.

“In an exhibit like this, I’m blown away,” Sullivan said as he glanced around the Gardiner Mill Cottage Gallery. “I’m learning a lot about painting by looking at the work of others. On our own out in the field, you’ve got to work your way through it. But when you get here, you see how others have painted things like shadows.”

While all are welcome to join The Wednesday Group, members must paint with the group for a full season before they can show in the exhibitions. The current membership reflects the region’s demographics. That means that most of the participating painters are retired, though the group’s organizers would like to see that change.

“People are working, and it’s hard to find time to paint on Wednesdays,” Sofo said.

“We’re always looking for younger people, but younger people can’t afford to live here,” added Samuelson, who stresses that the ultimate goal of The Wednesday Group is to build a supportive sense of community among local artists.

“It’s not a competition,” Samuelson said. “We do this because I think we want to, we need to, we have to paint — and we hope that we can bring some joy and pleasure to people when they have a chance to see what The Wednesday Group is producing.

“It’s reflective of where we live,” he added. “We’re not in competition with this one or that one. I hope we’re able to make that clear.”

“The Wednesday Group — 12 Years Strong” runs through April 24 at the Gardiner Mill Cottage Gallery, 36 James Lane, East Hampton. Featured painters are Eugene Samuelson, Frank Sofo, Bobbi Braun, Agnes Bristel, Susan D'Alessio, Gail & Hugh Gallagher, Aubrey Grainger, Judy Keller, Teresa Lawler, Marie Lombardi, Jean Mahoney, Katherine Milliken, Bob Sullivan, Pamela Thomson, Aurelio Torres, Maureen Travers and Daniel Weidman. For details, visit gardinermillcottagegallery.org.

Some favorite painting spots of The Wednesday Group:

Springs:

Gerard Drive

Louse Point

Accabonac Harbor

Amagansett:

Atlantic Double Dunes Preserve

Balsam Farm

Lazy Point

East Hampton Village:

Home Sweet Home

Mulford Farm

Clinton Academy Gardens

Northwest Woods:

Cedar Point Park

Bridgehampton:

Bridge Gardens

Sag Harbor:

Long Beach,

Long Wharf