Jelgava Painters' Plein Air in Kuldīga: Nature and History Inspire
Members of the Jelgava Folk Painting Studio have been going on plein air trips across Latvia every summer for over a decade. This year, from July 6 to 11, they stayed in Kuldīga near the Ventas rumba waterfall, creating works featuring the town's landscapes.
For more than ten years, participants of the Jelgava Folk Painting Studio have been taking summer trips across Latvia to paint en plein air. The plein air usually lasts a week. The Jelgava artists have visited Saulaine, Saldus, Cēsis, Zaļenieki, Kandava, Subate, as well as three times in Pāvilosta and the same number in Kuldīga, where this year's plein air took place.
From July 6 to 11, the folk artists stayed at a guest house near the Ventas rumba waterfall, where natural and urban landscapes sparked creative expression. The view included the waterfall, Kuldīga's old brick bridge over the Venta River, the city's rooftops, and the church tower. It took fewer than a hundred steps to reach the Ventas rumba, and this unique scenery inspired works featuring the waterfall motif. Many chose to paint and sketch Kuldīga scenes—streets, buildings, and courtyards—captivating with their historical charm, authenticity, flower beds, and abundant plantings.
The works created outdoors, along with other paintings made during the summer, are exhibited each autumn at the studio's joint exhibition at the Jelgava Cultural House.
