Ben Kress, who won last year’s Evanston Made Plein Air Mother’s Day Paint Out, works on the details of his watercolor at the Charles H. Dawes Mansion. His mother, Joan, drove from Milwaukee to be with her son on her big day. He’s always been creative, she said. “He started snipping paper, drawing, Legos from an early age.” Ben is a costume designer. He likes plein air, or painting outdoors, because, “It’s like you’re reframing the way you see what’s in front of you.” Sixteen artists surrounded the mansion, at 225 Greenwood St., looking for new perspectives. Jinsheng Song, an artist from Florida, won the Sunday Paint Out. This year’s Plein Air Festival will run July 11-19. (Photo by Richard Cahan.)
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