Mandurah's waterfront, quirky buildings and mostly beautiful weather make it an ideal target for landscape painters.
Plein air painting can be an ideal way to relax
Mandurah Plein Air Artists (Inc) has been a familiar sight in the Peel region since 2011 with the group heading out to paint every Tuesday. They are also behind Mandurah's involvement in the 21st
Worldwide Paint Out in which artists all over the world get together to paint, share ideas and encourage others to get involved.
Artist Leon Holmes attracts a crowd.
The Mandurah group is particularly focused on encouraging artists to participate in Australia's biggest outdoor painting festival
Plein Air Down Under to be held from September 24 to 26 around Mandurah and Pinjarra.
The free
Worldwide Paint Out will be held in Mandurah on September 10 and 11 from 10am to 2pm each day, gathering at Mandjar Square near the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre.
Landscape painters will bring their paint boxes and easels and set up where members of the public can see exactly what they are doing and what's involved in painting 'en plein air'.
Worldwide Paint Out encourages aspiring artists to see what landscape painting is all about.
Support for the event comes from International Plein Air Painters. Using the quality of the light and outdoor atmosphere plein air artists seek out the beauty in nature using a variety of media, from oils, to watercolours and pastels.
The public get to watch individual artists at work and see the different styles by moving from painter to painter throughout the day as they develop paintings on the spot.
Everyone is invited to come along and paint.
Inside the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre the Royal Flying Doctor Service
Spirit of the Landscape Exhibition will run from September 10 to October 16 to get the maximum impact of the
Worldwide Paint Out.
Event organiser Barb Thoms says there is a joy about painting outdoors and the
Worldwide Paint Out created an opportunity for people to see professional artists at work, as their paintings developed in response to the landscape around them.
Now becoming increasingly popular, plein air painting developed in France in the mid-19th century.
Painters and onlookers gather at Mandurah.
Last year's event drew artists from all over the globe prompting the creation of many new plein air painting groups.
International Plein Air Painters (IPAP), with members from around the world takes the lead role for individual plein air groups and was created for the sole purpose of promoting enjoyment of plein air painting without limitations of borders or regions.
IPAP's members share inspiration and encouragement for others to share ideas and to paint with other artists.