The Top Plein Air Painting Events for May 2025

artist posing with her painting out in field — Cindy Harris at a PACE paint-out ~ join us this year!

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Take advantage of these art and plein air painting events and opportunities from our 2025 Ultimate Guide to Painting Events and Organizations. Bonus: Includes upcoming event deadlines!

(We want to include your plein air painting events! Don’t see your group listed here? Contact our marketing team to learn how to advertise your events and more with Plein Air Today.

May 2025 Painting Events

California

LOST SIERRA PLEIN AIR FESTIVAL
Date: May 10-17
Opening Reception: May 16
Entry Deadline: May 2
Sponsoring Organization: Bear Creek Frames
Venue: Sierra Valley Preserve’s Nature Center, Quincy
Format: Open
Award Total: $3250
Contact: Mark V. Reynolds, [email protected], 530.616.0230, lostsierrapleinair.com
Join us as artists from across the country (and even as far away as South Africa) paint the vast vistas and charming towns of the Lost Sierra. Workshops will be held on May 10–11, with the competition beginning on May 12. An Artist Reception and Awards Ceremony will be on May 16 at the new Nature Center in Sierra Valley. The festival concludes with a Quick Draw Competition and “Off The Easel Sale” at the street fair in downtown Quincy on May 17.

EXHIBITION: CLOSE TO HOME
Dates: May 8 – September 4
Venue: Encinitas Community and Senior Center
Website: www.encinitasca.gov
“Close to Home” features five plein air watercolor artists from North San Diego County. Rooted in place and friendship, this show captures the spirit of our coastal landscapes with on-location works that speak to watercolor lovers and plein air enthusiasts alike. See works by Geoff Allen, Fan Li, Shuang Li, Keiko Tanabe, and Carol van Vooren.

Colorado

2025 BOULDER COUNTY PLEIN AIR FESTIVAL
Dates: May 31-June 8
Sponsoring Organization: Open Studios
Format: Juried
Award Total: $4000
Contact: Mary Horrocks, 303.748.9132, [email protected], openstudios.org/boulder-plein-air-fest
Artists from across the U.S. are invited to apply for the 2025 Boulder County Plein Air Festival along the Front Range of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. Up to 25 artists will be selected to paint rural, urban and mountain scenes of beautiful Boulder County. Total award package is $4,000, with $1,000 awarded for best in show. All painting mediums are welcome.

Florida

34TH NATIONAL JURIED EXHIBITION & CONVENTION
Dates: May 27-June 28
Opening Reception: May 30
Sponsoring Organization: Oil Painters of America
Venue: Herrig Center for the Arts, Bradenton
Juror(s) of Awards: Patrick Saunders OPAM
Award Total: $100,000 with a $25,000 cash Best in Show
Contact: Liz Pusch, 630.352.6554, [email protected], oilpaintersofamerica.com
The exhibition will showcase around 220 oil paintings from top artists across North America. Convention events from May 27 to June 1 include painting demonstrations, breakout sessions, wet paint competitions, and more. Registration is required.

Georgia

PLEIN AIR, ART IN THE MOUNTAINS
Dates: May 15-18
Opening Reception: May 16
Entry Deadline: May 5
Sponsoring Organization: Gilmer Arts
Venue: Gilmer Arts Gallery and Playhouse, Ellijay
Format: Combination
Juror of Awards: Jim Richards
Award Total: $1,900
Contact: Pam Burns, [email protected], 706.635.5605, gilmerarts.com
This fun event starts with a free day on Thursday so that artists can look around Gilmer County and ﬁnd some favorite spots. Friday and Saturday artists are assigned to host sites. Friday after painting there is a meet-and-greet reception for artists and volunteers at one of the sites. Sunday morning we sponsor a Quick Draw competition that ends before lunch so that artists can turn in their choices for the auction.

Illinois

14TH PRAIRIE PLEIN AIR COMPETITION AND SHOW
Dates: April 25-May 9
Contact: Roxane Benvenuti | [email protected] | prairiecenter.org

Louisiana

LOUISIANA WATERCOLOR SOCIETY 55TH INTERNATIONAL EXHIBIT
Dates: May 5-23, 2025
Contact: Louisiana Society, [email protected], louisianawatercolorsociety.org

Maryland

PLEIN AIR PAINTERS OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY
Dates: March 18-November 18
Contact: Dianne Mullaly, [email protected], dianeduboismullaly.com/other1
PAPCB is the “daughter” of the long-established Plein Air Painters of the Eastern Shore (PAPES) and now has over 50 members and organizes plein air paint outs every Tuesday.

Missouri

AUGUSTA PLEIN AIR ART FESTIVAL
Dates: April 24-May 3
Sponsoring Organization: Greater Augusta Chamber of Commerce
Venue: Augusta Harmonie Verein
Format: Open
Award Total: $15,000
Contact: Lynn Buchheit | 314.239.3988 [email protected] | augustapleinair.com
The Augusta Plein Air provides artists with the opportunity for market growth, skill enhancement, artistic recognition, and to experience Missouri Wine Country with other artists. This event has 15 paint-outs, three theme paints, workshops, and a final sale and festival. Final judging awards Best of Show, Artists’ Choice, People’s Choice, and 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and Honorable Mention in four categories. Art gallery open daily to display and sell art work. All levels welcome.

SUMMIT ART PLEIN AIR FESTIVAL 2025
Dates: May 29-June 1
Contact: Jody Fristoe, [email protected], summitart.org/summit-art-plein-air-festival/

Nevada

12TH ANNUAL PLEIN AIR CONVENTION & EXPO
Dates: May 19-23
Sponsoring Organization: Streamline Publishing / PleinAir® Magazine
Location: Lake Tahoe / Reno
Website: PleinAirConvention.com
The Plein Air Convention & Expo is the world’s largest gathering of outdoor artists. With a faculty of over 80 instructors, the event is designed to inspire painters and fine-tune their skills. The convention features indoor painting demonstrations, with big-screen views, in watercolor, pastel, acrylic, gouache, and oil painting. Daily painting as a group features instructors who offer suggestions as you paint. The giant Expo Hall features art supplies and frames at deep, convention-only discounts. There is also an art show of faculty and attendee artworks that is open to the public. In 2025 we will have pre-convention workshops in oil with Scott Christensen and in watercolor with Joseph Zbukvic (pre-registration required).

North Carolina

NORTH CAROLINA PLEIN AIR ART FESTIVAL
Dates: May 11-18
Sponsoring Organization: North Carolina Plein Air Art Festival
Venue: New Bern Farmers Market
Format: Combination
Jurors of Awards: Selection Juror-Phil Starke, Awards Juror-Shanna Kunz
Award Total: $16K+ 12K cash
Contact: Kippy Hammond, 252.558.1689, [email protected], ncpleinair.org
Now in its 5th year, North Carolina Plein Air Art Festival will feature 37 nationally acclaimed plein air artists in Eastern Carolina, rich in maritime and historic sites. Our 17 award-winning artists will be returning, joined by 20 more by jury and welcomed by local hosts for the event. Exhibition/Sales Gallery with fresh paintings daily in New Bern and paint-outs in Oriental and Beaufort, NC, make a spectacular week of 20 free demos, gallery talks, workshops, forums, youth activities, and a Quick Paint.

Pennsylvania

WAYNE PLEIN AIR 2025
Dates: May 4-10
Opening Reception: May 10
Sponsoring Organization: Wayne Art Center/Wayne Plein Air
Format: Juried
Jurors of Awards: Larry Moore
Award Total: $25,000+
Contact: Pam McLean-Parker, 610.688.3553, [email protected], waynepleinair.org
Founded in 2008, the Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival is one of the longest-running
outdoor painting events in the country.

Texas

PLEIN AIR SOUTHWEST
Date: May 4-10
Opening Reception: May 9
Sponsoring Organization: Outdoor Painters Society
Venue: Garten Verein, Galveston
Format: Juried
Jurors of Awards: Kathie Odom
Award Total: $25,000
Contact: Tina Bohlman, 972.741.6154, [email protected], outdoorpainterssociety.com
Competition artists will have the opportunity to interpret this historic city as only a plein air painter can. The event takes place during the annual Galveston Historic Home Tour that attracts thousands of visitors to the city.

Virginia

11th ANNUAL PAINT GREAT FALLS
Dates: May 17-24
Opening Reception: May 19
Sponsoring Organization and Venue: The Arts of Great Falls / Gallery
Format: Open
Award Total: $2500
Contact: Meralee Fredenburgh, 703.232.1575, [email protected], artsofgreatfalls.org
Capture spring colors and gorgeous scenery in Great Falls, a short drive from Washington, DC, but a world away with rolling tree-lined country roads. Paint the waterfall in Great Falls National Park, historic Colvin Run Mill, charming Great Falls Village Centre, or exclusive private gardens. Artists will receive a list of painting locations. Weeklong event includes an Artists’ Reception, Quick Paint, and Art Show & Sale.

Wisconsin

PLEIN AIR: A PAINT CEDARBURG EVENT
Dates: May 31-June 7
Opening Reception: June 6
Sponsoring Organization: Cedarburg Artists Guild
Venue: Cedarburg Cultural Center
Format: Open
Award Total: $8,500
Contact: Kerri Knapp, 262.993.9517, [email protected], cedarburgartistsguild.com/paint-cedarburg
Celebrating 24 years, Plein Air: A Paint Cedarburg Event is the largest gathering of outdoor painters in Wisconsin! Our quaint towns, charming farmlands, Lake Michigan shoreline, and diverse Ozaukee County scenery provide endless artistic inspiration. The week kicks off with Fresh from Cedarburg, a unique painting event held in historic Cedarburg that includes an exhibition and public sale. The 6-day painting event culminates with awards and an exhibition at the Cedarburg Cultural Center.