by Karen Braun Malpas

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Some people like to eat outdoors or listen to outdoor music or sleep outdoors or walk ’n talk outdoors but in recent weeks, 35 artists came to Alameda for a specific event because they like to paint outdoors. This was Frank Bette’s annual Plein Air Painting event.

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Many of the resulting works are now exhibited in the gallery at 1601 Paru @ Lincoln. There are many watercolor paintings A particularly light touch and confidence are askedof the watercolorist. Cathy Xu excels in these virtues. Her “Saluting the Hornet” is a deft symphony of neutral colors side by side describing the intricate ins and outs of the ships’ structure.

In direct contrast is the palette of Leslie Hamilton who painted the “Aeolian Yacht Club” with the predominantly primary colors of red, yellow, blue.

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Assertion of artistic license was reflected in two different approaches to paintings of a street. Jaladhi Pujara pictured “The Golden Hour on Park st.” . It is hushed, somewhat bleached, empty of humanity or activity, nearly mystical or imaginary. In contrast, Mandar Wagholikar took a “Walk Through The Lanterns”, an environment dense with color and pattern, movement and gaiety.