Plein Air Easton Hall of Fame 2025: Working Artist Forum

This article is part of a special series celebrating the 2025 inductees into the Plein Air Easton Hall of Fame. Now in its second year, the Hall of Fame honors individuals, organizations, and patrons whose dedication, creativity, and support have helped shape Plein Air Easton into the nationally recognized event it is today.

It’s always hot. That’s the first thing you remember about Plein Air Easton in July. Artists are sweating on sidewalks and docks, hoping for a breeze or to catch a shadow before it moves. Visitors duck into galleries for a break from the heat, squinting at maps and looking for where to go next. And right there, in the middle of it all, is Local Color.

It doesn’t shout for attention. No big banners, no music spilling into the street. But step inside, and there’s a hum. Artwork by regional artists—some just in from the field, others fresh from the studio—hangs in clean rows. A few visitors linger near the demo table. Someone’s handing out programs. Someone else is asking about a painting. It’s not flashy. But it’s warm. Familiar. Solid.

And it’s been that way for 21 years.

This year, the Working Artists Forum (WAF)—the nonprofit of professional artists who created and continue to run Local Color—is being inducted into the Plein Air Easton Hall of Fame. It’s not just for showing up, though they’ve done that year after year. It’s for building something that lasts.

Founded in 1979, WAF is a nonprofit organization of professional working artists from across the Delmarva Peninsula. Membership is juried, and the group includes painters of all styles, ages, and experience levels. But what unites them is not just a commitment to craft—it’s a commitment to community. That is evident throughout the year, in their monthly programs and exhibitions. But every July, it shows up in full force through Local Color.

Local Color was born in 2004, the same year Plein Air Easton launched. At the time, WAF was seeking a way to showcase its own regional artists during the festival, particularly those who hadn’t been juried into the main event. The idea was simple: create a parallel exhibit—something open to local and regional painters that could run alongside the plein air competition.

Nancy Thomas was there for all of it. A longtime WAF member and former president, she’s been involved in Local Color for over two decades. “Back then,” she said, “we were trying to create a space where local artists could be seen. Plein Air Easton only allowed so many painters, and there were so many others in this area who deserved an audience.”

It all started at the Tidewater Inn, where the first Local Color exhibit was held, marking a beautiful yet slightly chaotic beginning. It was open-entry at first, welcoming any artist from the five Eastern Shore counties. Over time, it became juried.

“We became the ones who had something going on during the day,” said Nancy. “In those early years, Plein Air Easton was quieter during the week because the competition artists were all out painting. So people came to us. We had the demos. We had the energy. We filled the gap.”

Maryellen Lynott is the current Local Color Chair and Vice President of WAF. A painter herself, she manages the details that keep the show running: schedules, artist communications, that massive opening reception, and of course, those demos.

The demos are often standing-room-only. And they’ve become a kind of signature WAF contribution—generous, informative, and volunteer-powered.

“The demos are a huge part of what we offer,” she said. “Every day during the exhibit, we bring in award-winning plein air painters to do demonstrations that are free and open to the public. People love them—whether they’re painters themselves or just curious. It’s a point of access.”

That spirit of sharing—of bringing art directly to the public—runs through everything WAF does. And it extends well beyond the gallery. In recent years, WAF has used the commission proceeds from Local Color to hand-deliver art supply gift cards to art teachers at elementary schools across Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

“For us to be able to come in and offer some support—it means a lot. It’s direct. It’s personal. And it connects us to the next generation of artists,” said Naomi Clark-Turner, the current President of WAF. Naomi joined WAF just a few years ago. She paints both in plein air and the studio and has found the group to be a place of creative support as well as community action.

One of her favorite memories involves the Local Color picnic paint-out—an event where artists gather on the grounds of a local estate to paint, exhibit, and share a meal with the public. “It’s everything I love about this group,” she said. “The painting, the connection, the joy.”

It’s not a one-way street. WAF artists talk often about the warmth they receive from the community—the way Easton greets painters like old friends, whether they’re longtime locals or just passing through. “I was painting on the street one day during a workshop,” Maryellyn said, “and people kept stopping to say, ‘Welcome to Easton!’ I didn’t even tell them I lived on that block—it was just really lovely.”

That kind of welcome isn’t unusual here. Easton has always shown up for its artists. During festival week, that support’s on full display—people open their homes, volunteer at every turn, donate supplies, and fill the sidewalks for Quick Draw like it’s a small-town sporting event.

And it’s in July, when everything WAF does year-round folds into the bigger picture. That’s where the relationship with Plein Air Easton comes in—one built not just on support, but trust.

Maybe that’s why Local Color manages to feel both consistent and fresh. The structure holds: juried entries, daily demos, a big opening night—but the people, the paintings, the tiny unexpected moments? Those shift every year.

Sometimes those moments come with the weather. “Some of the most stunning paintings I’ve seen,” Maryellyn said, “are from rainy days in Oxford. The reflections, the atmosphere—it pushes the artists to capture something different.”

Other times, it’s a matter of grit. “Plein air painting is not for the faint of heart,” Nancy said. “There are bugs, heat, crowds, and ticks.” “Marshes are the worst. Instant bugs,” Maryellyn added.

Even so, the joy outweighs the discomfort. “There’s nothing like it,” Maryellyn said. “To paint outside, to be part of this community, to see the town come alive with art—it’s what keeps us coming back.”

And they do come back—artists, locals, collectors, volunteers. The ones who’ve been showing up since the beginning, and the ones who just found it and don’t want to miss it again.

They come for the art, sure. But they also come for the people, for the rhythm of the week, for the chance to be part of something that still feels a little bit like a small discovery, even after all these years.

Plein Air Easton is a show, yes.

But to WAF, Local Color is also a statement: that art belongs in the hands of the people who live here, and that community doesn’t happen by accident—it happens because people show up.

The Working Artists Forum has been showing up for 21 years.

And now, they take their well-earned place in the Plein Air Easton Hall of Fame. Not with fanfare, but with the same quiet determination they’ve brought since day one.