Take advantage of these art and plein air painting events and opportunities from our 2024 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 plein air painting events and more with Plein Air Today.)
California
EXHIBITION: From Field to Frame: The PAC6 Show How It’s Done
Dates: Through July 7
Venue: Santa Paula Art Museum
PAC6 is a group of six women artists from Southern California who travel and paint together across the country. The artists are Linda Brown, Marian Fortunati, Nita Harper, Debra Holladay, Laura Wambsgans, and Sharon Weaver. For PAC6, “From Field to Frame” marks ten years of collaboration, and is their third major exhibition for the Santa Paula Art Museum. The show features over 70 new landscape paintings, including scenes from the group’s most recent “bucket list” trips to the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley in Arizona, and Hope Valley and the Monterey Peninsula in California. In other paintings, the artists have revisited some of their favorite destinations from the past decade, including Yosemite, Ediza Lake, and Lake Tahoe.
Website: www.santapaulaartmuseum.org
Colorado
Boulder County Plein Air Festival
Dates: June 1-7
Opening Reception: June 8
Sponsoring Organization: Open Studios
Venue: Niwot Feed Store Gallery
Format: Juried
Award Total: $3,700
Contact: Mary Horrocks
Phone: 303.748.9132
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.openstudios.org
Open Studios of Boulder County will host 25-35 juried plein air artists to paint the stunning vistas of Boulder County and its surrounding landscape. Capture the beauty of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, historic architecture, creeks, lakes, ponds, and agricultural land of Boulder County. Exhibit and sale to run from June 8 to July 5 in the charming, art-savvy historical town of Niwot.
21st Annual Telluride Plein Air
Dates: June 30-July 6
Sponsoring Organization: Sheridan Arts Foundation
Venue: Sheridan Opera House
Award Total: $15,000
Contact: Ronnie Palamar
Phone: 970.728.6363
Website: www.telluridepleinair.com
E-mail: [email protected]
The Telluride Plein Air Festival has become an indispensable part of Telluride’s Independence Day festivities, allowing locals and tourists alike to observe 20-25 of the nation’s top plein air artists at work. The festival culminates in a three-day sale, where the artists display the work they have created all week long. The festival is a fundraiser for the historic Sheridan Opera House.
Maryland
Paint Annapolis 2024
Dates: June 2-9
Sponsoring Organization: Maryland Federation of Art
Venue: Circle Gallery
Format: Combination
Juror(s) of Awards: Suzie Baker; Selection Juror: Christine Lashley
Award Total: $15,000
Contact: Laura Carty
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.mdfedart.org
For 23 years, Paint Annapolis has been the premier painting event for this sailing town, bringing the community together to share in the beauty of painting outdoors. Paint Annapolis this year will take place from June 2-9, kicking off with the Quick Draw. Paint Annapolis has something for everyone — from artist to art lover to collector. We are excited to see you for a week of painting in our historic streets.
Paint It! Ellicott City 2024
Dates: June 6-9
Opening Reception: June 10
Sponsoring Organization: Howard County Arts Council
Venue: Howard County Center for the Arts
Format: Combination
Contact: Elli Hernandez
Phone: 410.313.2787
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.hocoarts.org
During the four-day plein air paint-out, capture the old mill town’s charm through its trove of paintable treasures: historic landmarks, quirky architecture, steep hillsides, and a beautiful river. Juried artists are featured in our main gallery for a six-week exhibit. Artists of all skill levels are invited to take part in the Open Paint portion.
Massachusetts
Berkshire Plein Air
Dates: June 15-October 11
Opening Reception: July 25, 2024
Sponsoring Organization: Guild of Berkshire Artists
City: West Stockbridge
Format: Open
Contact: Karen Carmean
Phone: 617.868.7082
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.berkshireartists.org/pleinair
Create art outdoors with Berkshire Plein Air of Western Massachusetts. Daily 10am-1pm except Sundays, weather permitting, June-October. Meet at a beautiful Berkshire location: Hancock Shaker Village, The Mount, the Berkshire Botanical Garden. Work until noon, then positive critique over lunch (bring or buy). Oil, acrylic, photography, watercolors, pastel, drawing, digital painting encouraged. Bring your own supplies. Open to all levels. Come for a day, a week. Join us for exhibits, quick draws, demonstrations, workshops, and competitions. We also go to The Clark, Mount Greylock, Oxbow on Housatonic, a horse farm, Tyringham Cobble, Lake Cheshire, Bartholomew’s Cobble, Stockbridge, Lenox, Great Barrington, and Sheffield.
Michigan
Paint Grand Traverse
Dates: June 15-22
Opening Reception: June 21
Sponsoring Organization: Crooked Tree Arts Center
Venue: 322 Sixth Street
Format: Juried
Award Total: $15,000
Contact: Kristi Wodek
Phone: 231.941.9488
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.paintgrandtraverse.com
Spend a week creating, collecting, and celebrating in one of the most beautiful places in the country! Situated on the shores of Lake Michigan and surrounded by breathtaking dunes, lush wineries, rolling farms, and charming villages, Paint Grand Traverse draws a national field of artists. The week includes workshops, live demos, and exhibitions, and culminates with the Fresh Paint Party featuring the work of 32 nationally recognized artists.
Montana
Paint Under the Big Sky
Dates: June 1-July 31
Opening Reception: June 29
Sponsoring Organization: Big Sky Artists
Venue: Big Sky Artists Studio & Gallery
Format: Open
Contact: Annie McCoy
Phone: 410.463.0645
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.bigskyartistscollective.com
Join us for painting in Big Sky, Montana, the “Last Best Place” for the most spectacular scenery in the country! Mountains, streams, wildlife, and wildflowers galore! Paint anytime from June 1-28. Work exhibited for sale from June 29-July 31.
New York
Publisher’s Invitational: Paint Adirondacks
Dates: June 8-15
Sponsoring Organization: PleinAir Magazine
Venue: Paul Smith’s College
City: Paul Smiths, NY
Contact: PleinAir Magazine
Phone: 561.655.8778 or 800.610.5771
Website: paintadirondacks.com
PleinAir Magazine’s Eric Rhoads started the Publisher’s Invitational so his friends could join him in the Adirondacks to paint. An invitation is no longer required. This event is a chance for busy painters who need a break — a chance to slow down, reconnect with friends, and paint beautiful places where the masters before us have painted. We make it effortless. You roll out of your dorm bed for breakfast, pack your sack lunch for your day of painting, and show up for dinner. Our days are filled with painting the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York State and the surrounding area.
Pennsylvania
Plein Air West Reading 2024
Dates: June 8-15
Juror(s) of Awards: Mick McAndrews
Award Total: $6,000+
City: Berks County
Contact: Russell Slocum
Phone: 610.796.0418
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.artplusgallerypa.com
New for the 9th annual competition: larger display panels, each with LED lighting; up to 6 days to paint anywhere in Berks County, PA; and at least 12 awards totaling $6000+. Patrons Preview and awards Friday evening. On Saturday, it will be the keystone exhibit at the Art on the Avenue festival. Option for 2-week extended exhibit at Art Plus Gallery. Host housing or discount lodging for visiting artists.
Wisconsin
Plein Air: A Paint Cedarburg Event
Dates: June 8-15
Opening Reception: June 14
Sponsoring Organization: Cedarburg Artist Guild
Format: Open
Award Total: $8,000
Contact: Katherine de Shazer
Phone: 262.365.8958
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.cedarburgartistsguild.com
Plein Air: A Paint Cedarburg Event is the largest gathering of outdoor painters in Wisconsin. Our historic downtown, charming farmland, Lake Michigan shoreline, and diverse Ozaukee County scenery provide endless artistic inspiration. The week begins with Fresh from Cedarburg, a unique painting event, exhibition, and public sale held in the Historic District. The 5-day plein air Main Event includes artistic social gatherings and culminates with an exhibition, buyer event, and awards at Cedarburg Cultural Center.
June Deadlines for Upcoming Plein Air Events:
- Idaho: Driggs Plein Air Festival
Deadline June 3
www.downtowndriggs.org - Massachusetts: 25th Annual National Juried Exhibition
Deadline June 10
www.americanimpressionistsociety.org - Wisconsin: 11th Annual Paint the Point
Deadline June 30
www.artsmp.org
Looking Ahead, Online
4th Annual Pastel Live
Dates: September 18-20, with Essential Techniques Day on September 17
Sponsoring Organization: PleinAir Magazine
Venue: Online
Website: PastelLive.com
If you’re looking for a way to accelerate your painting skills and an alternative to expensive travel, Pastel Live features some of the finest pastel painters on Earth, over three days, plus an optional Essential Techniques Day before the main event starts. Essentials Day is a great opportunity for those who need a refresher before the main event, or those just starting out. Join us for demonstrations, lectures, painting critiques, discussions, group painting, and more … all online from the comfort of your own home.
PleinAir Salon Art Competition
Date: Monthly
Sponsoring Organization: Streamline Publishing / PleinAir Magazine
Website: PleinAirSalon.com
Enter the PleinAir Salon $50,000 Art Competition. This is open to all artists and not just for plein air painters. You could win $15,000 and be on the cover of PleinAir Magazine!
Stay tuned for more painting events coming online or near your hometown! We’ll post next month’s painting events soon!
