Rain postponed the 5th Wet Paint Padanaram event, hosted by the Dartmouth Cultural Center, not once, but twice: the event was scheduled months in advance for Sept. 23, before rain reset the date for Sept. 30, then finally Oct. 1. 

But that doesn’t mean it was smooth sailing for the painters that took their talents to the shores on Sunday. 

“The wind is horrible,” said Wanda Lewicka. 

“The wind is a challenge, I’ve got [my easel] bungeed,” said Robin Nunes. 

“The wind is rough, but aside from the wind, it’s nice,” said Julie Vieira. 

Strong winds even knocked over Marty Keating’s painting, sending the canvas flying into her. 

Still, the elements didn’t stop the painters from finishing their work and turning it in to the Cultural Center for the afternoon’s gallery show. In Keating’s case, her persistence literally paid off: she won second prize in the contest, which was judged by artist and professor David Barnes. 

Wet Paint Padanaram is the Cultural Center’s annual “plein air” painting competition: artists start the day with a blank canvas, head to a public space in Dartmouth and paint until finished. The work is then hung in the Cultural Center’s building on Elm Street, where cash prizes are awarded and community members are able to view and purchase paintings directly from artists. 

The event began as a way to highlight the local environment and climate change’s effect on it. To recenter that focus this year, the Cultural Center held a series of environmental lectures leading up to the painting day. 

For artists out and about on Sunday, the region’s environment inspired their participation.

“Everywhere you look, there’s a great view to work with,” said Kitt Shaffer, who won first prize at the show. “I think it makes people remember or recall just what a beautiful place they’re living in.”

Shaffer, an oil painter, made it through multiple pieces throughout the day. 

Robin Nunes, who was positioned at the west end of the Padanaram Bridge, said she’s “enamored by the beauty of everything” in the region, which sometimes makes it difficult to decide on what to paint. She faced her easel toward the southern part of the bay, painting the water and the boats bouncing atop it. 

“We’re so blessed,” Nunes said. “I get inspiration from this bridge, I get exercise … I came the other day when it was rainy and dismal and I thought that would have been a nice painting to capture.”

“I like that it’s local, I like that it highlights regional artists, I like that we’re outdoors, I like that it gets people together,” said Zachary Meunier, who depicted the Apponagansett Park bucket. “It’s an annual event that I look forward to every year.”

Meunier, who spraypainted his piece, said he appreciates that the competition is a “level playing field,” meaning that everyone shows up on the same day and has the same amount of time to complete their work. 

“You got to deal with the elements, you got to deal with your cups, your water and the wind and the [noise of] motorcycles,” Meunier said. “With traditional gallery shows, you could sit at your easel for ten years.”

Catherine Becker, Meunier’s spouse, echoed the sentiment: “It’s exciting, [it brings] adrenaline because you can't just plan every little thing out, you gotta just go with it.”

Becker, who is generally an abstract expressionist painter, decided to paint on a smaller scale. She brought six small canvases to her spot at Apponagansett Park, and planned to get through as many as time allowed.