The Society of Creative Arts of Newtown (SCAN) will host Ellie Boyd offering a plein air landscape presentation at its next meeting, planned for Wednesday, July 28, at 1:30 pm.

The program will be in the lower level of Newtown Meeting, House, 31 Main Street.

Boyd will discuss all aspects of painting outdoors and then answer questions.

SCAN asks anyone planning to attend to note that while the presentation is free and open to the public, it is also meant only for fully vaccinated participants.

A Southbury resident, Ellie Boyd is an award-winning oil painter, trained in the classical atelier style of painting. She enjoys painting outside, “en plein air,” when not in her Connecticut studio painting traditional genres of portrait, still life, and landscape.

“Have easel, will travel!” is her mantra.

Boyd studied languages and studio art at Sweet Briar College in Virginia, at Birmingham Bloomfield Art Association in Detroit, and abroad, prior to moving to New England in 1993 with her family.

She continued her studies privately in New York with Laurel Stern Boeck, serving as an apprentice for ten years, focusing on the figure and learning the business of commissioned portraiture.

Her first brush with plein air was as a child in Georgia, sketching with pencil and paper out in the countryside. She learned about today’s plein air art (dubbed “the new golf” by some) via the work of noted artist Richard Schmid and was motivated to found Pomperaug Outdoor Painters (POP) in 2012 for area artists looking to get outside to paint and enjoy beautiful locations in each other’s company.

In 2016, she experienced the full force of the current plein air movement during the annual Plein Air Convention and Expo (PACE) in Arizona, hosted by Eric Rhoads, publisher of Plein Air magazine. Many nationally known artists gave demonstrations and shared their knowledge of plein air. Hundreds of new and experienced painters joined in for the camaraderie and to sample the best painting locations in the Tucson area — a life-affirming experience.

Many artists attended from Connecticut, and continued to paint together and share inspiration at POP gatherings in the tradition of PACE. The group hosted a number of shows and was given access to beautiful private locations around the state. Boyd continued to participate in juried plein air events around the country while honing her skills.

Boyd now paints with the Connecticut Plein Air Painters Society (CPAPS), and recently showed with the group during a weekend event at the Budd House barn in Newtown. She is a member of the Portrait Society of America and American Women Artists, and heads a regional portrait artist agency, Enduring Portraits.

Reservations are not needed for SCAN programs. Additional information can be found at scanart.org.