Heading for the Door and More
Sent: 7/16/2026 10:38:11 PM

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The Latest News from

Debra Joy Groesser Fine Art

"Capturing the Spirit"

CELEBRATING 29 YEARS IN DOWNTOWN RALSTON!

Door County Plein Air Festival, that is!

We are out our door and heading to the Door County Plein Air Festival in Wisconsin! This is the festival's 20th year and it's been an honor to be invited to participate for the 19th year in a row. Mark your calendar for July 19-25. If you're in the area, I hope to see you there! Because of the smoke from the Canadian wildfires, the schedule may be altered somewhat, with some scheduled locations moving inside, so watch the PenArt social media for updates or subscribe to their email updates. Hopefully the smoke will clear but if not, just know that the great staff at PenArt is keeping everyone's safety in mind as they make any necessary adjustments. Below is my newest painting, "Memories of Moo's" (6x8 oil), which will be available at the Peninsula School of Art's Small Works Showcase and sale on Sunday, July 19th. Malibu Moo's was a charming ice cream shop in Fish Creek - it was my favorite treat on the last day of the festival every year. I painted this shop several years in a row for the Quick Paint competition. It's now painted blue and is home to Bayside Coffee.

Memories Of Moo's 6x8 oil on linen panel

For Artists and Art Lovers of all ages...

I didn't realize it's been 2-1/2 months since I sent out a newsletter... where has the year gone?? There's a very good reason for this though...I've been heavily involved in organizing an exciting new event in the Omaha Metro area with our Ralston Hinge Creative District. We are collaborating with the other three certified creative districts in the Omaha area as well. There's something for everyone and for all ages in our inaugural Heartland Plein Air Festival, a national level event and the first of it's kind in the area. The festival will be held from September 13th through 19th throughout Ralston and the great Metro Omaha, Nebraska, area, with a youth paintout and art show on Saturday, September 12th. 24 nationally acclaimed master plein air painters from 20 states are participating.

Plein air painting is simply painting outdoors on location, in the "open air." These paintings capture scenes that depict a moment in time that will never happen again. There are a limited number of "open" division slots for local/regional artists who would like to participate as well. Registrations are now open on our website, first come first served. There will be daily "lunch

break paintouts", a judge's lecture (ticket required), Quick Paint competition and live auction and a public reception/sale. There will also be a ticketed Collectors Preview Reception and Awards Presentation. Master artist, Rick J. Delanty, will be our Judge of Awards. A complete schedule, artist bios, tickets, a list of sponsors and more are available on our website, https://heartlandpleinair.org/ or click the image. Make plans to come learn, watch the artists paint and have the opportunity to purchase original works of art created through the week! There will also be programming for children. An event of this scope requires a lot of volunteers for many different tasks. If you would like to volunteer to help, please let me know!

New Painting (almost...)

In cased you missed it in my last newsletter, "Moonlight Walk in the Park" (12x9 oil on linen panel) was painted about three months ago from photos and direct observation of the park behind our home during a full moon. We walk our dog several times a day here. It's really beautiful at night and this particular night was especially so. If you look closely you'll see a figure walking a dog along the path. This piece is available through Impact Nebraska Artists.

"Moonlight Walk in the Park" 12x9 oil

If you don't already, please follow me on social media as I'll be posting about my adventures regularly these next few weeks. Links are at the bottom of this page.

As always, thank you as always for your friendship and support.

Creatively yours,

Debra Joy and Don Groesser