The Artist’s Workshop is celebrating its 30th Annual Show and Sale at the Art Presence Art Center in Jacksonville through August 24. However, the group actually began painting together 49 years ago. As the 50th anniversary of the group’s founding approaches, it seems very fitting to pay tribute to the founding members and share a few stories from the group’s history.

Five of the founding members are still active: Elaine Witteveen, Nancy Block, Mae Heideman, Christine Madden, and Pauline Mainwaring.

The group formed back in 1965 with the goals of showcasing members’ art, sharing a social environment, and painting regularly out of doors. This last goal held a particular attraction since most of the early members were women and when painting on location, there was safety in numbers.

Elaine-Witteveen[2]

Elaine Witteveen

Elaine Witteveen had the idea after a solo painting outing in Trail. Prior to leaving, she had learned that six moose had recently been shot there and their bodies left by the side of the road. The culprit had not been caught. She decided she was not going to let that deter her, so Elaine went ahead with her plans for the trip. However, when she reached the site where she wanted to paint, she still didn’t feel comfortable. Ingenious as always, Elaine reached a solution—she painted her subject from inside the car…with the doors locked.

Even more ingenious, she decided to do something about the isolation. Elaine went to the Rogue Gallery’s Executive Director and asked her to ask the Gallery Board to sponsor her painting group—even though she didn’t have a group yet. The Board not only agreed, it also gave the artists a large classroom space where they could set up their still lifes and paint.

Of course, Elaine admits that the new group had a little influence. Betty Allen, who became one of the first members of Elaine’s group of painters, was on the Gallery Board. She also happened to be the wife of the publisher of the Mail Tribune, so the group received a lot of favorable publicity.

That publicity helped the group to grow, and over the years the Artists Workshop has grown and grown and grown, moving from the Gallery to a member’s home to Sun Oaks, to barns, to libraries and to churches. They initially showed their art in the Rogue Gallery, then 30 years ago they held their first formal show and sale in the U.S. Hotel Ballroom. They’ve benefited from classes with great art teachers, and they’ve shared their knowledge with each other, encouraging each member’s artistic development.

They paint indoors in the winter from models and still lifes. But the Artists Workshop members are primarily plein air painters, which means they paint out of doors whenever possible. They’ve painted at locations all over the Rogue Valley, and when gas has been cheap, they’ve gone as far a field as Canyonville, Diamond Lake, and Northern California.

That means they’ve not only enjoyed nature, but also periodically encountered it.

While painting in a pasture one time, Pauline Mainwaring complained to her fellow artists that a horse had taken her sandwich. They told her she shouldn’t have left it lying where the horse could get it. She explained that she hadn’t—that she was sitting there eating it when the horse walked over and bit it out of her hand.

Another time Mae Heideman screamed so loud the other artists thought she was being attacked. She was—by a chipmunk. It was trying to get into her bag so she chased it off and it promptly ran up her back!

If you stop by Art Presence on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday this August, you will have an opportunity to appreciate not only the experiences that have brought and held this group together, but also their growth and evolution as artists as reflected in this year’s show.

Their work not only enriches our culture and our lives, it also records our history. Over the years, they have painted hundreds of local scenes and landmarks. Many of these are no longer here…but they are preserved for posterity in the work of this group. Their artwork is both their legacy and our legacy!

Founding members left to right are Christine Madden, Elaine Witteveen, Mae Heideman, and Pauline Mainwaring.

Photos are by Paula Block.