The transition from a studio painter to plein air painting (French for painting outside) has been educational to say the least. I have always enjoyed the comfort of painting inside with the coffee pot handy, music in the background and the telephone not far away.

But my recent participation in the Second Annual Prairie Fire Festival and Plein Air painting event in Cottonwood Falls has inspired me to challenge the elements and work more outdoors.

Chuck Waldman, left, an artist from Sonora, Calif., and Lawrence artist Louis Copt paint a view of the Neosho River Valley, looking toward Council Grove.

Through the urgings of Kansas City artist Joan Parker and Lawrence painter Lisa Grossman, I teamed with Suzan Barnes, president of the Cottonwood Falls Retail Merchants Assn., and Billie Altenhofen, manager of the 1874 Stone House Bed and Breakfast in Cottonwood Falls, to help plan and organize the weeklong painting event that ran March 30 through April 7.

The idea was simple. This was to be a free painting event for artists to spend a week painting in and around Chase County, culminating in a fund-raising auction to benefit the artists and the merchants association.

More than 40 artists signed up to participate, including local artists Judith Mackey, Dana Hassett, Dale Hartley and Zak Barnes, but some came from as far away as California. Many came from Kansas City.

Skeptical at first, many of the ranchers and land owners were not too excited about having a bunch of strangers wandering on their property, slinging paint and frightening the livestock. But once the owners and artists met face to face and views of the Flint Hills began to appear on canvas, the ranchers became instant fans, shared secret vistas with the artists and invited everyone to come back again next year.

I was lucky to be able to spend a day with California artist Charles Waldman, who is an expert in plein air painting. He quickly snapped his box of painting supplies to a camera tripod and was knocking out a scene of the Neosho River Valley from a high perch. Meanwhile, I was struggling with my French easel, brushes flying everywhere, and the wind wanting to make a sail of my canvas. Waldman eventually talked me down, and we both completed two very different interpretations of the same scene. I was actually pleased with the way my painting turned out and began to think I could get used to this.

Meanwhile, the dozens of other artists were off on their own adventures, painting in every medium, from oil to pastel to watercolor. The only “rules” were the paintings had to be completed on site during the week and each artist had to donate one work to the fund-raising auction.

Several social events were held for the artists, including a barbecue, tours of various ranches, a musical jam session with the Tall Grass Prairie Pickers and an informal get-acquainted party. A group of six Plains women, who call themselves Plain Spoken Women, read their poetry while an arts and craft fair crowded the brick-paved streets.

On April 6, the artists streamed into the historic courthouse that dominates the main street in Cottonwood Falls with their creations for the exhibit and auction, which was held later that evening. The exhibit was open to the public and people were astonished when they saw more than 40 completed and framed paintings on display, all created during the week of the painting event.

Later that night, the paintings were taken upstairs to the courtroom to be auctioned. The room was packed and even the jurors’ box was full of patrons and artists anxious to see who would bid on what.

The lively and entertaining auction raised more than $6,000 in less than an hour. Collectors who had heard of the auction came from as far away as Kansas City. Some bidders were first-time art buyers and others were artists who wanted a work of a colleague they admired.

Already, meetings are scheduled to plan next year’s event, which from all indications will be even bigger and better. More artists are expected to participate and more ranchers will open their gates. The festival will extend over a two-week period to allow artists to spend more time working.

I doubt if I will abandon studio painting. But there is something magical about working outdoors. Feeling the wind, watching the light change, seeing cloud shadows dance across the hills and experiencing the vastness of the prairie has always inspired my imagination. And now that spring is here, I know my French easel will see more action outdoors.

Louis Copt is a Lawrence artist who has painted the Flint Hills for a number of years.