EASTHAM — The white tents are up, a summer ritual that fills the lawn of the 1869 Schoolhouse Museum. Under their shade, browsers rub elbows with painters, collect, and gossip.
The artists are members of the Eastham Painters Guild. They may not have their own building, says its vice president, Robin Wessman, but that doesn’t matter. “This organization is held together by relationships,” she says.
The guild was created in 1980 by a few Eastham artists who at first sold their works at the library. Today, there are 22 members, and the group includes painters who live everywhere from Truro to Barnstable. They work in watercolor, acrylics, oils, and hot wax.
Members are accepted into the guild by a jury process. Applicants submit works for review, and, except during the busy summer season, a committee of members decides whether to invite each new artist to join.
Wessman has been a member for eight years. His shorelines, paths, and lighthouses combine expansiveness with detail, evoking a Cape Cod version of the Hudson River School tradition. He lives in Norfolk for part of the year, but it’s in Eastham that he finds the inspiration to paint. “It’s not just the scenery, it’s the people here,” he says. “It’s a community of artists.”
Their outdoor summer shows attract many tourists, says Shyllberg, who is in her sixth year with the guild, but she meets locals there, too. It’s one of those happenings that draws regulars. She says people tell her, “It’s a tradition. We come here every year.”
Plein air painting is another guild tradition. Early on a Tuesday morning, John Dillon stands in front of the Penniman House. He’s one of six artists scattered about the yard, each one absorbed in how best to convey the building’s lines and bright colors. Through the Cape Cod National Seashore’s “Bringing Art Into the Parks” initiative, guild members host painting sessions every week throughout the summer at places like Fort Hill, the Highland Light, and Herring Cove.
On the lawn at the museum, many visitors are looking for Cape Cod scenes, Shyllberg says. At her booth, she’s currently showing waves, boats, historic houses, and familiar-yet-dreamy paths. But she notes there’s more to see under the small tents — portraits, including portraits of houses, still lifes, and even a few surreal works can be found here.
Down the way from Shyllberg’s tent, John Dillon, a retired teacher and three-year guild member, has marsh scenes done in energetic impressionistic strokes.
Artist Ron Edson first got involved by helping other artists with tent setup. He moved to the Cape in 2007 from Manhattan and has been painting local scenes ever since. At his booth were highly textured, brightly colored encaustics, some with a surreal feeling.
One might wonder if setting up shop right next to so many other painters would feel uncomfortably competitive. But a spirit of camaraderie prevails here. For one thing, members say, they take shifts running the shows, greeting guests, and sharing their work.
Under the tents, artists and buyers get to know one another, too. “That’s what makes being in the guild different from being represented in a gallery,” says Shyllberg.
“We get to talk to people,” says Wessman. “So, they have a little bit of a story to take with them.”
Gallery Without Walls
The event: Eastham Painters Guild outdoor art shows
The time: Weekly through Oct. 8; Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays in August, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The place: On the lawn of the 1869 Schoolhouse Museum, 25 Schoolhouse Road, Eastham
The cost: Free
The Fine Arts Works Center in Provincetown is rounding up a gaggle of poets — Marie Howe, Nick Flynn, Robert Pinsky, and Kelle Groom — who will participate in a virtual reading of works inspired by Patty Larkin’s latest CD, Bird in a Cage, on Tuesday, July 14, at 6 p.m. Tickets are $25 and available at fawc.org.
