The final day of the State Fair included the finals for the 2014 Mr. & Ms. Physique Competition. I knew about this last year, but got to the venue late, and by then the place was completely packed. This year, with the new 70-200 lens, I wanted to be sure to get there early to get a good vantage for the show.

Last weekend was the Fox Valley Plein Air painting competition. This is a new event, hosted by both the Jack Richeson corporation in Kimberly, WI, and the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum in Neenah, WI. I want to say outright that I was pretty excited for the opportunity to paint in a new area of the state, and glad of the generosity of Richeson. After visiting the museum a few weeks ago for the Wisconsin Plein Air Painting exhibition, I thought this event would have potential. Unfortunately I was wrong, the trip was largely an expensive disappointment.

Link: http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/blog-7114-door-county-plein-air-festival-2011-musolff-wins-d.html

After a long night without much sleep, I managed to get up early enough to pack up and turn in my keys and get to the park in time to find a great spot, right across the street from the tent used for registration for the Dockside Quick Paint event. This event gave us ample time to set up and sketch, within a two block radius of the park, but only two hours to actually paint.

I took a protein shake with me for breakfast as I scouted possible locations and greeted some of the other artists who were just arriving to do the same. I spoke for awhile with my friends Larry Schultz and Jason Prigge, then went off to look at some possible vantages for the day’s events. I had an hour before I could get my panel stamped, and another two before the event started. We were all looking at the overcast sky and judging the winds to estimate what the light would do between 9-11 am.