Twenty-five nationally acclaimed plein air painters took part in the Winter Park Paint Out last month, with some record-breaking results. We’ve got them right here! Check it out!
Sales records were broken during the 2017 Winter Park Paint Out, which, for nine years running, has attracted many of the nation’s top painters. This year witnessed 25 acclaimed painters and hundreds of intrigued onlookers converging on the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens. Founded in 1961, the institution is home to a vibrant collection of American representational art, with a focus on sculpture. Of course among the main attractions for the event are the lush gardens that surround the museum, which were in full bloom during the paint-out.
Between April 23 and 29, participating artists created 259 paintings, 108 of which were sold for a total of more than $91,000 — the highest sales total ever for Winter Park. “Highlights of this year’s event included a collaboration with the Kerouac Project of Orlando,” event organizers report. “[The collaboration] resulted in a demo painting by artist Cory Wright of Jack Kerouac’s charming bungalow in the College Park neighborhood of Orlando and a live poetry reading that was captured in plein air by artist Natalia Andreeva. The Sunset Paint-In held at the Winter Park Racquet Club is always a high point of the week, with most artists gathering together to paint at a public lakeside event with food and wine.”
Museum CEO Debbie Komanski says, “For the ninth year, 25 gifted plein air artists captured the beauty of Winter Park and our surrounding area with exquisite works of art and set a new record for sales.” Proceeds from the sale benefit both the artists and the museum. This year’s participating artists included Natalia Andreeva, Irina Kovnacka Ashcraft, Stacy Barter, Matthew Cornell, Kathleen Denis, Charles Dickinson, Bill Farnsworth, Mark Fernandez, Harold Frontz, Michelle Held, Scott Hiestand, Renee Lammers, Patricia Maguire, Suzanne Morris, Patrick Noze, Barbara Ortiz, Jeff Ripple, Gary Rupp, Tom Sadler, Morgan Samuel Price, Manon Sander, Don Sondag, Ruth Squitieri, Cory Wright, and Vladislav Yeliseyev.
Plans are already in motion for 2018. Florida artist Morgan Samuel Price’s painting “Washington Bikers” was chosen as the poster image for the 10th Annual Winter Park Paint Out, slated for April 22-28, 2018. A call for artists will be posted soon at winterparkpaintout.org.
