Can we Paint? Plein air artists capture mountain beauty

by Sandy Compton

The French have an expression—en plein air—that means just what it sounds like: “in the open air.” It’s used to refer to a painting style wherein painters capture their subject outdoors, in natural light.

In 2009, three painters and a “guide” entered the Scotchman Peaks on the first adventure to be known as “The Extreme Pleinair.” The artists followed the guide—however foolishly—into the high sources of Ross Creek and Blue Creek near the Idaho/Montana border. It was, to use an over-used word, “epic;” so epic that one artist swore off the Extreme forever. Painters Jared Shear and Aaron Johnson and the guide came back time and again.

Twelve more expeditions have entered into the wild country north of the Clark Fork River between Bull River and

Lightning Creek, all to benefit Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness, which advocates for federal wilderness designation of the area. The route of march and cast of characters has varied over time, but the overall mission has remained the same: take artists into the wild and let them make art. And have fun.

There are three types of fun. Type one is fun now. Type two is fun to talk about later. Type three is not really fun. The Extreme always features types one and two, and sometimes type three. But after a few years, even type three can become type two.

“Capturing the beauty of the backcountry takes artists who are both talented and tough,” said FSPW Executive Director Phil Hough. It’s also good if they have a sense of humor.

If you want to paint outdoors, there is a lot of outdoors in the

Scotchmans interior. Plus pure adventure. No roads. Few trails. Loads of vertical. Good opportunities to get kind of, but never totally, lost. Peaks to climb. Springs, streams, and waterfalls providing plenty of water for personal consumption, gouache, and watercolors. Critters to spot. Spectacular subjects and time to paint them. Alder and devil’s club to fight.

“I love everything about the Extreme,” said Johnson (who seemingly likes to suffer), “especially alder and devil’s club. Everything is hard, getting the gear in, choosing what to paint, having the energy to make art after a long hike. But the hike refills me. Days in the wilderness provide endless inspiration., and the Scotchmans and people I’ve hiked with are part of me wherever I am.”

Carol Maddux, who first joined in 2018, is in agreement. “My least favorite thing is alder,” she said, “but it is still my least favorite thing. I love all of it; particularly the good friends I would have never met and knowledge that there is still wilderness out there.”

“Can we paint?” is one motto of the Extreme, which the guide is always willing to answer in the affirmative. He needs the rest. Another might be, “This wasn’t in the brochure!” introduced when painter Ed Robinson joined in 2017.

This might be murmured while traversing a scree slope or thicket of alder, muttered trying to kill a dozen mosquitoes with one blow, or said right out loud while navigating a cliffy spot one Extreme regular insists we don’t tell their spouse about.

Robinson was joking—sort of—but also appreciative of other stuff not in the (non-existent) brochure. “My favorite thing about the Extreme,” he said, “is the multi-day, total immersion with good friends into two of my greatest interests—the backcountry and plein air painting.” He also admits that one of his favorite nights in wild country was an “extra” necessitated by a wonderfully miserable day—type two fun, for sure—crawling over, around, and through stacks of wind-thrown and floodtoppled trees in the West Fork of Blue Creek. That certainly wasn’t in the brochure.

The 13 Extremes have included painters, sculptors, mixed media and pencil artists, writers, photographers, and cinematographers, as well as observers (besides the guide). The list of artists includes those mentioned, plus Victor Vosen, Melissa Thompson, Deb Hunsicker, David Herbold, Lauren McCleary, Sam Olson, Aaron Theisen, and Marjolein Groot Nibbelink. The 2010 version of the hike was filmed by Wildman Pictures for

“En Pleinair,” directed by Jake Glass, filmed and photographed by Glass and Matt Stauble and edited by Joe Foster. (Watch it at www.sptmag.com/pleinairmovie)

The Extreme grew out of the FSPW Pleinair Paintout, based for much of a decade at Kallie Thurman’s Outskirts Gallery in Hope, in which artists worked around the edges of the proposed wilderness. Johnson and Shear participated in this event in 2008. At the resulting art show in Sandpoint, they approached Paintout organizer and FSPW board member Neil Wimberly and said, “We want to go inside the wilderness and paint.” Wimberly pointed out the “guide,” and the Extreme was hatched. The first expedition took place the next summer.

The sale of Extreme art often benefits the artists and FSPW as well. Many resulting works have been donated for auction or sold at events with the proceeds divided between the artist and FSPW.

“It’s a win-win,” said Hough. “Not only do the artists and FSPW benefit financially, the artists have opened the eyes of many to the beauty of the Scotchmans beyond the trail.”

There are other benefits for the artists as well. Extended time in the wild doing what one loves to do provides opportunity to rest from the “real” world, even while pushing physical limits toward the edge of capability.

“It’s an opportunity to enter into a different world,” Johnson said. “Painting in the Scotchmans isn’t like plein air painting anywhere else.” That isn’t in the brochure either.

The 14th Extreme Pleinair is in the planning stages. Learn more at www.scotchmanpeaks.org