The Hydrostone set to be beseiged by painters over the weekend

If you happen to be wandering through the North End on the weekend, don’t be surprised if you start running into a bunch of randomly placed landscape painters perched studiously behind easels.

On September 18 and 19, the 5th annual Paint the Hydrostone will resume as a public event after last year’s much-scaled down version due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Last year, I didn’t want to have crowds in the gallery,” says Cheryl Bell, owner of 14 Bells Fine Art Gallery and organizer of the event. “(So) with COVID, I did it a little differently. Instead of making it a weekend event, I just invited some alumni artists and had them paint throughout the course of the month whenever they wanted to.”

While the 2020 Paint the Hydrostone event was a success in its own right, the COVID-19-friendly format certainly didn’t carry the same spirit of the plein air painting affair for either the public or the artists.

Going back centuries, plein air painting is the practice of artists escaping the studio and taking their work “in the open air” where they can paint landscapes while being outdoors and in the environment of their subject — in this case, the Hydrostone neighbourhood.

“It’s just a very loose gathering,” says Bell about the event. “The artists are going to be out in the park in front of the Hydrostone and some of them go up to Fort Needham, some of them go in the boulevards in the residential area — and they paint so you can just wander around and talk to them.”

With a half-dozen artists registered for the event, this year’s Paint the Hydrostone has been more popular than ever — perhaps a result of the pandemic having contributed to artists of all types working isolated for more than 18 months.

“This year, I have everything from amateur artists to very well-established gallery artists so it’s a very big mix,” adds Bell. “It's going to be nice — more so for the artists than the collectors — to actually connect with people because they’ve been locked up (and) I think it’s going to be good for the artists to reconnect with their adoring fans.”

The event will be good for Brigadoon Village as well. The non-profit organization that runs a camp for youth with chronic illnesses and other life challenges will receive proceeds from all the Paint the Hydrostone registration fees.

“100 percent of that goes to Brigadoon and then also ten percent of the sales that are sold over the weekend for Paint the Hydrostone goes to Brigadoon as well,” says Bell, adding that she will also be selling Paint the Hydrostone aprons and giving a portion of all other sales in the 14 Bells gallery to the charity.

“On our biggest year, which I think was 2019, we raised over $2,000,” adds Bell. “I think we are going to beat that this year because we have way more artists — 24 artists have signed up — so the registration fees alone are significant.”

The public is invited to wander around and observe the many artists at work over the weekend. In addition, paintings will be for sale with art pieces being sent back to be showcased at 14 Bells as they are completed.

Bell will also update her social media platforms over the weekend as works are finished so art collectors who aren’t able to attend in-person can take part in the event.

“I have a lot of loyal people that come and buy little pieces every year,” says Bell about the growing popularity of Paint the Hydrostone. “I’ve had a lot of kids who come and bring their sketch books and sit down with the artists and draw and paint, so people do look forward to it — it's become a community event.”

For more information on Paint the Hydrostone, visit the website.