3 Places to Spend a Lazy Summer Afternoon in Milwaukee

We asked Milwaukee insiders to share their favorite spots.

SUNNY SKIES have finally returned to Wisconsin. And we can’t wait to start soaking up some rays at picturesque parks and patios around town, and really work on our farmers’ tans. So we asked a handful of Wisconsin artists, all of whom paint en plein air (a.k.a. outside, where the weather and lighting conditions could change at a moment’s notice), for some particularly scenic spots worth scoping out.

1. Lake Park

THOMAS BUCHS

“I enjoyed painting in Lake Park, near the Lion Bridges, when they held the [Art in the City Plein Air MKE] event there a few years ago. Things to paint wherever you looked!” 


 

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2. Schlitz Audubon Nature Center

LYNN RIX

“I love painting at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center in all seasons. In particular, I seek out the spaces that include water. Teal Pond and Mystery Lake in the [warmer months], when the reflections of the trees and bushes are magical. And Lake Michigan in the winter, when the ice formations, water color and sky are ever-changing.” 

3. The East Side

KYLE MARTIN

“I was listening to Blues and the Abstract Truth while painting on the corner of Prospect and Kenilworth. A crowd gathered around, and the people and energy of the city moved me.”


 

This story is part of Milwaukee Magazine‘s June issue.

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Lindsey Anderson covers culture for Milwaukee Magazine. Before joining the MilMag team she worked as an editor at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and wrote freelance articles for ArtSlant and Eater.