“It must be having an effect” (economically), Conner surmised. And while they’re here, they shop, stop in for meals, stay over, attend other events, explore. To them, an artist seems like a magician - as if they’re pulling a painting out of thin air,” Conner says. “People want to see the artist working and then to see the finished work … Many, many people want to know what art is and what people do to create it, to see the magic of it.
Not only to paint, but to admire the process. People come in from all over the country to take his workshops: particularly the plein air events. The event even functions as historical record: “It’s documenting the iconic buildings and landscapes of the area - providing a history of how things change,” he says.Īnd it’s certainly true that Conner’s longtime connection to the Bennington community has brought it economic benefits. He says he’s pleased to hear how appreciative the visiting artists are to find the beauty in the local surroundings, and their place in it. There’s a main competition offering 11 prizes totaling more than $6,000 in cash, merchandise, and purchase awards, and a “quick draw,” offering nine prizes totaling more than $1,200 in cash and merchandise awards.Ĭonner ( ) says that painting en plein air - outside, and without the aid of photography - is flourishing as an art form, and that this season’s competition is attracting some of the best in the field from across the country. 3-8 and gives artists four days in the open air to paint what they like among what Conner calls “exciting designated sites across the shires.”Īt the end of four days’ painting - in an expanded geographical area this year - the artists will exhibit their work. When downsizing loomed in 2003, this former AT&T account executive leaped at the chance to paint full-time.īut painting the rural landscapes of Vermont and New England, and tackling commercial work, is not all Conner, now a Bennington-based watercolorist and teacher, does - and many, many other artists are grateful to him for it.Ĭonner is a founder, and the event director, of Plein Air Vermont, now in its fourth year. Like many who take up the arts following a first career, Tony Conner needed only the right moment to act.
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