Since 2013, Plein Air Mt. Lebanon has developed into a wildly-supported neighborhood (and soon to be city-wide) annual cultural event. The event showcases artists en plein air – French, meaning “in the open air” — and scatters them about town, easels and all, as they paint the scenes that call to them. Each painting is a snapshot in time, and captures the architectural subject in the moment.
Plein air painting is done on location, capturing the atmosphere of the moment. The majority of the painting must be completed on site with little to no work to be done in the studio. Most artists agree this is the true test of ones skill as a painter as it requires complete confidence in placement of color and brushwork in a short amount of time. For example, a sunset may only last 30-40 minutes. That would be all the time the artist has to capture the scene.
In addition to being a corporate sponsor, support of the event included design of all the collateral, website additions, event program materials and artist swag (aprons, buttons, T-shirts). Because of the multitude of deliverables, a flexible identity system – based on an actual artist reproduction (provided by Plein Air artist David Csont) – was developed for reproduction across a variety of mediums. Full color, black, white (reverse), and even some jewel-tone colored versions were planned for.
