Mendocino Open Paint Out – A Plein Air Festival

Ryan Jensen

RYAN JENSEN, born in the San Francisco Bay Area, moved around a bit growing up. But his earliest memories are of family and include his father, a painter, and his mother, a graphic designer, arched together over a drafting board in their in-home studio; or his father's paint-covered hands on the steering wheel as he drove his son to school. On the mornings Ryan's father left early for work, there would be a sticky-note sketch on the kitchen table, usually a comical depiction that always made Ryan laugh. Jensen began to sketch as a child and never stopped. Somewhere, "deep down," he knew he wanted to be a professional artist one day, but throughout adolescence and young adulthood there were many other things that captured his interest.

At age twenty-one, Jensen chose to pursue a career in the United States Marine Corps and subsequently served eight years. With three, combat tours to both Iraq and Afghanistan, he gained crucial, life experiences that helped him "see the world through a different lens." After Jensen was honorably discharged, he returned to school.

Majoring in Fine Arts, in a painting class, he began to work with color for the first time. Jensen realized that his life-long, drawing background had set a great foundation for him as a painter. But it was his "deep down" desire to paint, rooted in family life experiences, that surfaced in the remembered words of his father: words about the importance of warm and cool light and broad brushwork. Now, the first things people notice about Ryan Jensen's paintings are the way he handles light and his brushwork.

When Ryan is not painting, he cherishes time with his two young children. His passions include fishing, hunting, connecting with nature, and has recently began to dive into cooking. Jensen makes his home in Sunny Blue Lake, California.

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Maeve Croghan

MAEVE CROGHAN's innovative interpretations of the nature painting genre have gained her much acclaim. Maeve grew up living every summer on a remote island in Northern Michigan. Here she developed a deep reverence for the lakes, woods, the surrounding lands and Nature.

When Maeve first visited California many years ago, she was overwhelmed by the magnificence of California's natural beauty. She paints from a deep spiritual connection to the environment. Her love of the land is understood in her color filled paintings.

Maeve’s oil paintings are begun outside. She intensely observes the environment, becoming immersed in it as she paints. The paintings are finished in the studio from her memory and personal exploration and interpretation, without photo references.

Maeve has been painting since she was 15. She studied at the San Francisco Art Institute (BFA program) for many years, as well as Reed College, the Portland Museum Art School, and the Corcoran School of Art. She has a BA from New College of California in “Art and Education” focusing on Art and Social Change.

Maeve has been the recipient of many prestigious juried awards. Her paintings have been shown in numerous galleries and Museums around the country. Her Museum showings in Alaska, California, Oregon, New Mexico, Michigan and Japan have been enthusiastically received. Recently her paintings were chosen for an exhibit at the Matsumoto Museum in Matsumoto, Japan, and for the Museum of the Living Artist in San Diego, CA. Her paintings are featured on the wine labels of Castoro Cellars of Templeton, CA.

Most recently her painting, “Russet Vines” won the National competition and award for the prestigious Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau wine label of France.

Her work is in prominent collections throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan and Mexico. Maeve’s paintings have been chosen for multiple editions of the juried books, “ART of Northern California” and “American Art Collector,” as well as the "Studio Visit" Art Journal. Her paintings are included in the book “Artists of the Northern Great Lakes.”

Maeve is the founder of the Mendocino Eco Artists, a group of professional artists who join together to have exhibits benefitting and bringing publicity for environmental causes and organizations. She is also a founding member of the Mackinac 7 Artists group of Mackinac Island, Michigan, and on the Grants Committee of the Mackinac Island Community Foundation. She has served on the Board of the Mendocino Art Center Exhibits Committee, and for the Mendocino Open Paint Out (MOPO). She is a long time member of the Mendocino Plein Air Painters (PAPM). At The Hunters Point Shipyard Artists’ Studios in San Francisco, Maeve organizes the Annual Holiday Art Show, and was formerly on the Spring Open Studios Advisory Board.

Maeve lives and paints in Mendocino in the fall, winter and spring. She maintains an art studio at Hunters Point Artists’ Shipyard Community, in San Francisco, CA, and lives and paints on Mackinac Island, MI, in the summertime.

• Visit Maeve Croghan’s website

California Artist CAROLYN LORD was introduced to plein air painting and the bold color and strong design of the California Watercolor Style while in college, and is now integrating aspects of Tonalism and Impressionism into her current work. Lord is a Signature member of the California Art Club, National Watercolor Society, and her work is represented in California, Colorado, and Utah galleries. She has taught perspective drawing and watercolor workshops at the Mendocino Art Center. Lord has participated in juried and invitational plein air events, Maynard Dixon Country, Crested Butte Plein Air, Sonoma Plein Air, and in 2017 was awarded “Best of Show” at the Mendocino Open Paint Out.

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