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HAMMONTON - Seppo Siimes scouted the streets of downtown Hammonton on Saturday morning for the perfect subject to paint.

The 47-year-old artist from Millville found his inspiration in a historic-looking building next to the railroad tracks on Bellevue Avenue.

Siimes dutifully set up his easel and began laying out his oil painting when, without warning, a hot dog lunch wagon parked right in middle of his view.

"That really bothers me," said Siimes of the mobile vendor just as a double-decker train roared past. "With plein air you have to expect that kind of thing to happen."

"Plein air" refers to painting that is done outdoors.

Siimes was one of nearly 20 artists who competed in the first of what is expected to be an annual Plein Air Paint Out Competition, sponsored by the Hammonton Arts Center and the Noyes Museum of Art.

Mike Cagno, the director of the Noyes Museum, said Hammonton served as an ideal location for such a competition because of the diversity of settings it offers.

"In downtown alone, you have different types of architecture that all have a really nice, old-town look to them," he said. "And then as you make your way to the outskirts of town there are lakes, orchards and farm lands. No matter what kind of subject matter you like to paint, there's something for you in Hammonton."

So Cagno armed the artists with town maps and snacks and sent them on their way.

Some, such as 76-year-old Joe Wolf, of Voorhees, Camden County, chose to stay downtown, while others ventured down dirt roads and through blueberry fields.

Wolf came equipped with a folding chair, umbrella, easel and the all of the materials he needed to do a water color rendering of a home on Vine Street.

"I've got all of the tools and none of the talent," the semi-retired engineer joked. "But this is a great way to spend a beautiful spring day."

Little Egg Harbor Township resident Linda Hibbs opted to paint a pond at Frog Rock Country Club. But she quickly reassessed that decision as wayward golf balls started darting past her location along one of the golf course's fairways.

"I guess it's safe to say that we have to deal with all kinds of obstacles in plein air painting," Hibbs said.

As the day grew longer and the sidewalks started bustling, many of the artists attracted crowds.

Siimes used it as an opportunity to pass out flyers advertising his work, while Mays Landing resident Rita Michalenko took a chance to learn more about her subject - the Red Barn Farm Market on Route 206.

"There were some people who stopped by to see what I was doing and who knew all about the history of the barn, like how it used to be on the other side of the street and had to be moved," said Michalenko, a professor at Atlantic Cape Community College.

This delighted Michalenko, who said she initially chose the barn as her subject because it had the right amount of color and character.

"I wanted something that said 'Hammonton,'" she said. "And the smell of the muffins and pies baking is just terrific."

Sisters Sarah and Alissa Sutton were among the only Hammonton residents in the competition. They blamed their participation, and atypical early morning Saturday productivity, on a demand from their mother, Debbie.

"We walked around town to see if we could find anything that would be worth painting. We came across this church and decided to give it a shot," said Sarah Sutton, 24.

While the thrill of competition attracted many of the artists to the contest, Amanda Sutton, 26, said it gave the sisters a chance to pick up an old hobby.

"We had to go to our house and dig for whatever we could find (to paint with) because I haven't painted in years," she said.

The sisters' former art teacher - Hammonton High School teacher Alice McEnerney-Cook - also participated in the competition.

"How she's doing?" Sarah Sutton asked about McEnerney-Cook's progress midway through the competition. "Does it look good?"

McEnerney-Cook, who painted a view of the pansies at Ron's Gardens and Farm Market on the White Horse Pike, said seeing her former students participate in such an event was heartwarming.

"You encourage students to pursue their skills as artists and then, years later, you find out they are passing that same encouragement on to another generation," McEnerney-Cook said of the sisters, who are both teachers. "It's why you do it."

E-mail Robert Spahr:

RSpahr@pressofac.com

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