LAKETOWN TWP. — Artists from around West Michigan captured Felt Mansion in watercolor, sketches and memories on Sunday as part of the first annual Felt Mansion Plein Air Event.

“It’s one of my favorite painting spots,” event co-organizer and artist Jim Johnson told about 20 participants at the estate in Laketown Township. “I have been fascinated with the Felt Estate since I came across it when it was abandoned.”

More:Felt Mansion's past includes boarding school, convent and prison

The program is part of the mission at the Felt Estate to preserve the area’s history, said Patty Meyer, director of Friends of the Felt Estate. She oversees the operations of the estate, as well as the ongoing restoration, tours and public events.

“What better way than to take a painted snapshot of the mansion to record what it looks like?” Meyer said, adding more art events could be ahead at the attraction in Laketown Township’s Shore Acres Township Park.

"Plein air" means to paint in the open air. Before participants began, organizers shared tips on equipment, technique and the challenges of painting in the elements.

Co-organizer Mary Jane Pories told participants, some of whom hadn't seen the estate before or were new to plein air, not to be afraid to try new things.

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“The wonderful thing about art — you have to be willing to try stuff and be willing to fail,” Pories said.

Jean Kubiszewski sat under a tree and looked over the 25-room mansion. It was the first time she'd seen the duneland estate.

“It’s beautiful,” she said.

Laurie Lehman stood at the bottom of a hill looking up at the mansion while dabbing her canvas with a brush.

“I would definitely love to come back and paint it again,” she said.

The mansion was constructed in 1925 by Dorr E. Felt, inventor of the comptometer, an early adding machine. After his death, the estate became St. Augustine Catholic Seminary, then a state prison and Michigan State Police post before the property was purchased by Laketown Township in 1996.

The mansion had fallen into disrepair when Meyer and her husband saw it for the first time while hiking in 2001.

Learn more about plein air opportunities in West Michigan at facebook.com/PAAWMPainters.

— Jim Hayden is the public information officer of Laketown Township and a former reporter for The Holland Sentinel.