Today we’d like to introduce you to Barbara Rallo.
Hi Barbara, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been painting in the small villages & countryside of southern France for over 20 years – after seeing a calendar of the “Most Beautiful Villages of Provence” in 1998. Little did I know that I was painting “en Plein air” – the French term for painting outdoors and that I would start an international Plein air painting competition 16 years later in San Angelo, Texas!
My husband and I attended a major Plein air festival in the Chesapeake Bay area 12 years ago and convinced one of the artists to come to do a workshop in San Angelo. While I was planning the 3 sites to paint for the workshop, I realized we had all the pieces to host a Plein air festival here.
Fast forward, and EnPleinAirTEXAS (EPAT) in its 9th year is one of the premier Plein air competitions in the U.S. Artists from all over the country and beyond apply each year hoping to be one of the 30 selected to paint in late October on ranches and the surrounding areas. The top 5 winners from the past year are automatically invited back.
This year’s juror was Michael Grauer, of Oklahoma City, one of the leading Western Art historians in America.
Artists from 17 states were selected, with 10 chosen from Texas this year. One of those is pastel artist Irena Taylor of San Antonio. Irena is a Founding Member and Past President of the Texas Pastel Society, based in San Antonio, and taught youth and adults for almost 20 years at the Coppini Academy of Fine Art.
This is Taylor’s first year applying to EnPleinAirTEXAS, and she’s in for a week of inspiration and hard work! Our artists will go directly to one of 18 private ranches spread across Texas from the Big Bend area to Sterling City to Kerrville. Ranchers host the artists for three nights – with lodging, food, and letting them roam the ranch to paint from dawn to dusk.
Then Monday, October 24, 2022, the artists arrive in San Angelo and will spend Tuesday and Wednesday painting at five sites around town. The public may come watch and meet them in our historic downtown area, the International Waterlily Garden, and out at the Chicken Farm Art Center.
The weekend brings the “STAMPEDE” – an exhibit awards party, and sale at the Fort Concho Stables on Friday, October 28th. Saturday morning, any interested artist (and several are coming from San Antonio!) may come to paint with the EPAT artists during the “Dia de Los Muertos” festival along the river near the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, for a $10 fee. Kids may paint for free and enjoy an Art Scavenger Hunt as well.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I could never have imagined bringing an artist to do a workshop would be the catalyst to bring out a passion inside of me. It’s definitely rewarding, but this event has become a year-round ‘job’ of planning, tweaking, and finding sponsors and volunteers. The logistics of a week-long series of events for 35 artists, with lodging and food, is quite a task!
I consider myself a watercolor artist, but that has taken a side stage to my current life as an arts entrepreneur. I love that role, but I definitely miss the time I could be spent painting.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a watercolor artist, with a passion for sketching and painting in France. I’m inspired by the red poppies, lavender fields, and old Roman hilltop villages in the South of France. Traveling over 20 years annually, sometimes twice a year, with a really good friend, has filled my life with beautiful friendships and memories! When you paint on the street, or in cafes, you meet so many people, and have so many wonderful adventures – it’s truly amazing.
I love gathering people together and have taken groups with me to France over the years to share ‘my France’ with them – having tea in the garden of an artist we met over the years, dinners in French homes, and little-known villages that are still undiscovered.
We’ve had a few “France Amies” shows with all of the artists who have gone to France with us and totally go overboard with the French theme – because part of my heart does live in Provence all the time!
My current life as the founder and Coordinator/Co-chair of EnPleinAirTEXAS is also a blessing. Plein Air painters are some of the happiest people you can know. I believe it’s because they get out of their quiet, lonely studio and out into the countryside! They are like family, and they welcome you right in – sharing tips, answering questions, and just being a good friend.
Gathering these happy people together for our competition is like having a family reunion. Most of our volunteers are also artists, and we enjoy treating our ‘guests’ like celebrities!
I’m a part artist – part entrepreneur – part social gatherer!
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
I’ve learned how important it is to answer that calling inside. The call to go to France and paint – even if by myself – opened my life to meet people all over the world. Each person you reach out to and meet can enrich your life in so many unexpected ways, and open new paths to new adventures never dreamed of. My lesson to others is to follow your passions and big adventures will follow!
I’ve also learned the importance of communication and a spirit of thankfulness when working with a large group of volunteers over 9 years!!
Pricing:
- EnPleinAirTEXAS events are mostly free to the public.
- The STAMPEDE is a $100 ticket with a $100 credit towards a painting purchase.
- The paint-out at the Dia de Los Muertos is a $10 fee – with awards and the opportunity to sell your painting.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.enpleinairtexas.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pleinairtexas/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PleinAirTexas
