Plein Air Easton Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of the Plein Air Easton Podcast, we sit down with acclaimed painter Antwan Ramar for a conversation about the roots of his artistic journey. Antwan shares stories from his early life, reflecting on the moments and influences that first sparked his creativity and led him toward a life in art.

We also dive into how he discovered plein air painting, the challenges and rewards of painting outdoors, and the way working directly from nature continues to shape his artistic voice. Along the way, Antwan talks about finding community in the plein air world, developing his style, and the lessons he's learned from painting in the field.

It's an honest and inspiring look at the path that led one artist from early curiosity to a thriving career capturing the world in real time.

In this episode of the Plein Air Easton Podcast, we're joined by Carol Bean of the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy for a conversation about land, legacy, and the power of creative expression. Carol shares how ESLC works to protect the Eastern Shore's farms, forests, and waterways—and why preserving these landscapes matters now more than ever.

We also dig into the unique role artists can play in environmental advocacy, exploring how painting, storytelling, and visual documentation can inspire stewardship and spark meaningful conversations about conservation. It's a thoughtful look at how art doesn't just capture beauty—it can help protect it.

https://www.eslc.org

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LIVE from Plein Air Easton 2024, Tim and Jess talk with alumni artist Lisa Egeli. Lisa deep dives on her approach and philosophy to both her plein air work and her portraiture.

Lisa Egeli paints the people and places we care about most. 

Her ability to bring out the character of her portrait subjects has led to repeated commissions by many clients. Lisa has completed multiple commissions each for Johns Hopkins Hospital, Elon University and Washington College. Other portrait clients include but are not limited to the State of Maryland, University of California Davis Medical School, the University of Maryland Medical School, the George Washington University Law School and the Maryland National Guard.

Lisa's land and seascapes portray the uniqueness of a place in a moment of time, capturing the light and its seemingly magical effects on the scene. Her work is inspired by her love of nature, and a belief in the need to highlight the vulnerability of our natural world.  Her penchant for travel has allowed her to build a body of work including views from around the world, working both en plein air and in the studio, most commonly in oil and often in pastel or watercolor. Her paintings have been featured in numerous exhibits and are held in many permanent collections. 

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To inquire about being a guest or sponsoring the Plein Air Easton Podcast, send us an email at info@pleinaireaston.com.

Music in this episode was generously provided by Blue Dot Sessions and Scott Gratton.

LIVE from Plein Air Easton 2024, Tim and Marie talk with alumni artist Mick McAndrews. Mick discusses watercolor painting and his membership in the Whiskey Painters of America.

"I am a passionate painter who believes that time spent painting is precious. My goal is to draw and paint every day and I believe that the fastest way to artistic growth is through the activity of painting. I  enjoy painting outside to take advantage of surroundings, natural light, and the sights and sounds that influence each painter's creative nature. Outside in nature's studio is where I find the greatest challenge and the greatest reward. I am challenged to capture the moment because light and its effect, reflection and cast shadow changes continuously. I am forced to simplify, to reduce the overwhelming complexity of what's in front of me into only the most important shapes and values. My nature is to be spontaneous so working loose and impressionistically appeals to me. The magic of watercolor is found in the partnership between artist and medium, of finding a balance between the knowledge, technique and skill of the painter while leaving room for the magic that makes watercolor so distinctive."

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To inquire about being a guest or sponsoring the Plein Air Easton Podcast, send us an email at info@pleinaireaston.com.

Music in this episode was generously provided by Blue Dot Sessions and Scott Gratton.

Philip Carlton talks purpose, inspiration, and marketing woes with Tim and Marie.  We recorded this compelling interview several months ago, but we weren't able to release it when we shifted our staff energy to redesigning our foundation website. Our apologies for the delayed release, but we hope you enjoy.

Philip Alexander Carlton is a self taught plein air painter who takes delight in the endless challenge of observational painting. Although his foray into outdoor painting began in the urban Midwest, his travels and artistic passion for scale and atmosphere left him enamored with the western states. He currently resides and paints most often in the desert canyons of Fruita, Colorado.

His artistic philosophy centers on the belief that painting is just as much about process as it is about product. Consequently, all of his work is started and finished on location, often over multiple days as light and conditions necessitate. For Philip, painting "en plein air" is its own form of expression and is not just a stepping stone towards creating larger works or a means by which to study an environment; creation in nature is at the core of his artistic practice. 

Although his chosen subject matter may change with the season and his visual style continues to evolve, it still carries with it the same soul of his early plein air work: his paintings have always served as a visual journal of his life and travels, and as such tell a story which can vary wildly between both the classically grand and the uncomfortably gritty locales that he explores.

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Music in this episode was generously provided by Blue Dot Sessions and Scott Gratton.

Bernie Dellario come into the studio to speak with Tim and Marie.  He talks about his painting trip to Italy that caused him to miss an early Plein Air Easton event, his approach to teaching, and gives Tim and Marie a little demo on how to mix paint.

"From the beautiful to the discarded, I am inspired by many things as an artist.  I rarely know what will be the subject of my painting efforts, but once discovered, I strive to articulate my impression of that reality into a collection of abstract shapes, strong design and color"

Bernard Dellario earned a bachelor's degree from Kings College in Wilkes-Barre, PA with emphasis on finance and art history.  He studied Art at the Art League School in Alexandria, Virginia and attended several workshops with nationally known artists.  He has been a member of the Washington Society of Landscape Painters since 2003. Fondly known as WSLP, one of the oldest active artist organizations in the Washington area, Bernard currently serves as President. He teaches painting classes through several venues, has won national awards and exhibits throughout the Maryland Eastern Shore and Washington, DC regions.

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To inquire about being a guest or sponsoring the Plein Air Easton Podcast, send us an email at info@pleinaireaston.com.

Music in this episode was generously provided by Blue Dot Sessions.

In an incredibly brave and vulnerable interview, artist Tim Beall discusses the inner battles he endures as he pursues his art.  Growing up in an environment that he describes as being synonymous with "toxic masculinity", Beall speaks to the struggle to acknowledge his drive to be creative that brought him from athlete to artist.

Tim Bell began serious painting study with the well-known portrait painter Cedric Egeli in 1994 and assisted Cedric in teaching color painting at the Cape Cod School of Art. Tim studied briefly with Maryland Impressionist John Ebersberger, who introduced him to George T. Thurmond. It was Thurmond, a devoted student of the late Henry Hensche, who Tim credits with having taught him the principles of the Hensche method of painting.

A painting trip to Scotland in year 2006 was a significant turning point in Tim's methods and style of painting.  It brought new ideas and a fresh vision as he added tonalist color theory to his palette.  Painting trips in following summers to Cape Cod, Gloucester, and Monhegan Island cemented these color theories and a painting friendship with Robert Gruppe. Tim uses oils and a combination of palette knives and brushes on canvas to create his paintings that are a tribute to the rich artistic heritage of American plein air painting.

For a period of time Tim had the unique experience of working on a fishing boat on the Chesapeake Bay.  It was this experience that gave him an appreciation of the majesty and unique history of oyster boats under sail.  The Chesapeake Bay, the skipjacks, bugeyes and schooners that ply its waters are some of his favorite painting subjects. He also enjoys frequent painting trips to New England, Scotland and Italy.

Tim's paintings have been exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions. He is an active participant in plein air painting competitions and is a sought-after instructor for his oil painting workshops. His paintings hang in private collections throughout the United States and Great Britain and are also included in the collection of Frostburg State University. In 2004 Tim was honored to be juried into the "Sunlight and Shadow" exhibition at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum. In the 2006 Paint Easton plein air painting competition, Tim Bell won the Grand Prize for his oil painting of skipjacks on the Chesapeake Bay. He has won many awards since then, including the 2009 Plein Air Easton Artists Choice Award and the Best Marine painting.

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Music in this episode was generously provided by Blue Dot Sessions and Podington Bear.

Thoughtful and friendly, Christine Lashley shares with Tim and Marie her journey as an artist and her approach to her art that is very introspective and optimistic.  While the conversation never closes the loop on being chased by a bear, we do discover the surprising poignancy of her first painting of a rooster.

Christine is an American artist known for her colorful and dramatic oils. Christine has been involved in the arts all her life, with early years sketching outdoors and watching her mother and grandmother create sculpture. She spent several years in the high fashion world of Europe, and then worked in graphic design and creating murals. She began painting professionally with watercolors but moved to oils in 2009. Most of Christine's art ideas are gathered by painting outdoors (plein air). The beauty of a moment held in memory and fusing reality and the abstract are key elements of her style.

With a BFA from Washington University in St. Louis and prior study at the Sorbonne and Parsons in Paris, Christine continued her art education with workshops from prominent artists. Her awards include Best of Show at: Plein Air Telluride, Bath County, and En Plein Air Texas. Other awards include the Bold Brush Award, ARC salon, Plein Air Salon Top 5 Annual Finalist, and numerous Oil Painter's of America (OPA) awards. Publications include the cover of Plein Air Magazine. She has taught workshops and classes for over 25 years.

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Music in this episode was generously provided by Blue Dot Sessions and Scott Gratton.

May Klisch made her Plein Air Easton debut this year and won the judge's choice award for her work "The Font of American Farmers".  Tim and Jess talk with May about how she failed art in high school, her gratitude for those that helped her rediscover the artist in her, and craft beer.

Someone once remarked of my work: "I see why there is as much breadth as there is depth; as much whimsy as weight; as much energy as tranquility. Her work reflects her, her facets, passions, and life's journey."

The movement and growth in my work are time bridges; each phase is at once new, and old, and forever…like the stories we collect, but that also collect us. I am a Singapore-born Midwestern American artist working with a variety of media exploring contemporary art expression.

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To inquire about being a guest or sponsoring the Plein Air Easton Podcast, send us an email at info@pleinaireaston.com.

Music in this episode was generously provided by Blue Dot Sessions and Podington Bear.

Despite being a relative new-comer to plein air painting, Mick McAndrews won 3rd place at the 2022 Plein Air Easton festival with his piece "Good Morning Oxford".  After having technical difficulties during our first interview with Mick, Tim and Jess sat down with him again and this time discuss identifying as a "capital A, Artist", why Mick loves watercolor, and golf as a metaphor for painting.

"I am a passionate painter who believes that time spent painting is precious. My goal is to draw and paint every day and I believe that the fastest way to artistic growth is through the activity of painting. I  enjoy painting outside to take advantage of surroundings, natural light, and the sights and sounds that influence each painter's creative nature. Outside in nature's studio is where I find the greatest challenge and the greatest reward. I am challenged to capture the moment because light and its effect, reflection and cast shadow changes continuously. I am forced to simplify, to reduce the overwhelming complexity of what's in front of me into only the most important shapes and values. My nature is to be spontaneous so working loose and impressionistically appeals to me. The magic of watercolor is found in the partnership between artist and medium, of finding a balance between the knowledge, technique and skill of the painter while leaving room for the magic that makes watercolor so distinctive."

Follow Mick McAndrews:
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To inquire about being a guest or sponsoring the Plein Air Easton Podcast, send us an email at info@pleinaireaston.com.

Music in this episode was generously provided by Blue Dot Sessions and Scott Gratton.