Hey, Miami. Have you ever painted on the beach, with a canvas on easel plopped in the sand, a paint palette gripped in one hand and a paintbrush in the other, as you look intently on to a horizon of swirly, cotton candy-hued skies?
An experience of this sort is something any Miamian with even the slightest artistic ability is afforded to do any day of the year, and yet, we don't. It took a visiting Midwestern artist to start a beach painting revolution this week.
Tyson Reeder, a Chicago/Milwaukee-based artist, curator, and event organizer, who's known for putting together fun artistic events with his brother Scott, has made Miami his latest project.
You may recall back in December when Tyson and Scott set up the Beach Painting Club together with the NADA Art Fair. The paintings produced in the al fresco painting gathering on the Deauville's beachfront were then sold at a Hurricane Sandy Benefit.
Now back in Miami, as part of Bas Fisher Invitational's #BeachFrontImports WEIRD MIAMI initiative, Reeder has been invited to live out his dream of a perfect art holiday: spending away his days painting on South Florida beaches. On Monday, the Beach Painting Club set up canvases on the beach on Collins between 21st and 22nd to paint en plein air until the sun went down. Anyone with a sensible amount of art supplies was invited to join Reeder to paint anything from birds to water to random sunbathers.
Tyson is the best. He is so fun and free, every so often he would ask to switch and people would finish up each other's paintings," says Naomi Fisher, co-directo of BFI. "Towards the end, we did a few group paintings where everyone there jumped in to work on a single piece."
In case you missed the Beach Painting Party, you'll still have a chance to join Reeder in the action. On Saturday, January 26, Reeder is hosting a WEIRD MIAMI bus tour that stops at several beaches with postcard worthy views to frolic and paint. Snacks will be provided and you can even get a chance at sketching with Reeder himself. Now, will you finally go out and paint on the beach already?
Opening reception for Reeder's exhibition is Thursday, January 24, from 7 to 11 p.m at the BFI #BeachFrontImports, 100 NE 11th St., Miami, (Two blocks from Canonball and CIFO in Downtown Miami). BFI is by appointment only; email [email protected] for appointments.
WEIRD MIAMI bus tour is on Saturday, January 26, starting at 11 a.m. Advance tickets cost $25.After January 21, tickets will cost $35. To book a seat, visit basfisherinvitational.com.
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