Take advantage of these art and plein air painting opportunities from our 2022 Ultimate Guide to Painting Events and Organizations.
(Don’t see your event listed here? Contact our marketing team to learn how to advertise with Plein Air Today.)
April 2022 Art / Plein Air Painting Events
Arkansas
Art and the Park: Creative Roots
Dates: April 29-May 8, 2022
City: Hot Springs
Sponsoring Organization: The Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance
Website: hotsprings.org
The 10-day spring festival will again combine in-person and virtual activities that showcase the talents of local and guest artists. The theme for the 2022 festival will be “Creative Roots” with many elements of the festival celebrating the varied cultural backgrounds from which Arkansans come.
California
Fallbrook Plein Air Event/Competition
Dates: April 9, 2022
Entry Deadline: April 9, 2022
Sponsoring Organization: Fallbrook Art Association
Venue: Town of Fallbrook
Format: Open
Juror of Awards: Terry Chacon
Contact: Julie Compton
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 805.794.0709
Website: www.fallbrookartassn.org
One-day event open to all artists. Determined by judge Terry Chacon, cash prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places plus three Honorable Mention ribbons. Sign in on the day of event at 9:30 a.m. at the Gallery location, 300 N. Brandon Rd. #6, Fallbrook, and pick up a map of the Fallbrook area showing places to paint and get your materials stamped. At 3 p.m. return your work to the Fallbrook Village Square for judging. Awards presentation at 4 p.m. Entry forms and information available on our website 30 days prior to the event.
Florida
6th Annual St. Augustine Plein Air Paint Out
Dates: April 27–May 1, 2022
Opening Reception: May 6, 2022
Entry Deadline: April 22, 2022
Sponsoring Organization and Venue: St. Augustine Art Association
Format: Open
Award Total: $2,000
Contact: Jennifer Flynt
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 904.824.2310
Website: www.staaa.org/pleinair
The annual St. Augustine Plein Air Paint Out in historic St. Augustine, Florida, is a nod to the city’s art history and celebrates the time-honored tradition of painting en plein air. Artists will be inspired by the Spanish architecture, coastal environment, small-town streets, and Old World charm of the nation’s oldest city. Highlights of the event include: artist demos, quick draw competition, public and online gallery of plein air paintings, and juried exhibit. The St. Augustine Plein Air Paint Out is sponsored in part by a grant from the St. Johns County Tourist Development Council.
Georgia
Olmsted Plein Air Invitational
Dates: April 16–24, 2022
Opening Reception: April 19, 2022
Sponsoring Organization: Olmsted Arts, LLC
Location: State of Georgia culminating in Atlanta, GA
Format: Invitational
Award Total: $40,000
Contact: Lillian Ansley
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 404.376.7075
Website: www.olmstedpleinair.com
Produced by Olmsted Arts, Olmsted Plein Air Invitational is one of the most prestigious plein air painting competitions in the United States. Olmsted Plein Air is at the center of the modern plein air movement. The work produced here has importance beyond the daily joy of seeing original artwork in your home. Master artists will capture the landscapes of the state of Georgia and metro Atlanta. Olmsted Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is dedicated to nurturing the visual and cultural art education and experience through art.
Illinois
11th Prairie Plein Air Competition and Show
Dates: April 29–May 13, 2022
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.prairiecenter.org
Indiana
23rd Annual First Brush of Spring
Dates: April 19–28, 2022
Opening Reception: April 20, 2022
Entry Deadline: April 22, 2022
Sponsoring Organization: Hoosier Art Salon and Indiana Plein Air Painters Association
Venue: Hoosier Salon New Harmony Gallery
City: New Harmony, IN
Format: Invitational
Juror of Awards: Bradford Ross
Award Total: Over $15,000
Contact: Linda Volz
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 812.682.3970
Website: www.hoosiersalon.org
The 23rd First Brush of Spring Paint Out is a 10-day art event with pre-paint-out workshops from April 19–20 featuring Mark VanderVinne. The paint-out kickoff reception is at the Hoosier Art Salon on Wednesday, April 20, with Field to Finish exhibit and awards; April 20–23, paint-out competition with professional, non-professional, and youth divisions totaling over $15,000 in awards; April 23, art sale (pre-registration required); April 25–28, post-paint-out workshops featuring instructors John Michael Carter, Douglas David, and Mary Beth Karaus.
Missouri
Summit Art Plein Air Festival
Dates: April 8–10, 2022
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.summitart.org
19th Annual Augusta Plein Air Art Festival
Dates: April 20–30, 2022
Sponsoring Organization: Augusta Chamber of Commerce
Venue: Vineyards, wineries, parks
Format: Open
Award Total: $15,000+
Contact: Lynn Buchheit
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.augustapleinair.com
Enjoy spring in the heart of Missouri wine country! Beautiful Augusta, Missouri, is waiting for you to paint the vineyards, wineries, farmland, scenic trails, Missouri River bluffs, and the river! This 10-day event has 13 paint-out competitions, three theme paint competitions, workshops, and a Final Sale Festival. The final judging awards Best of Show, Artists’ Choice, People’s Choice plus First, Second, Third, and Honorable Mention prizes in four categories. A pop-up gallery is open daily for artists to display and sell their work. Our festival is open to artists of all levels.
New Mexico
Fechin Invitational Exhibition
Dates: April 5–May 15, 2022
Sponsoring Organization: Plein Air Painters of New Mexico
Venue: Taos Art Museum at Fechin House
Website: papnm.org
Every year the nonprofit organization Plein Air Painters of New Mexico (PAPNM) invites its members to apply for Signature status. First, applicants must describe and prove they have attained certain markers of professionalism and artistic excellence. This information is reviewed alongside their creations by four unnamed judges, who score the applications and then announce the results. The even higher tier of Master membership is awarded by invitation only.
This is the fourth year that an exhibition of Master and Signature members’ recent works will be mounted at the Taos Museum of Art & Fechin Studio, formerly home to the brilliant Russian-born artist Nicolai Fechin (1881–1955). Each eligible artist will send one painting, which can be painted indoors or outdoors in any medium. The opening reception is set for April 9.
Pennsylvania
River Towns Plein Air
Dates: April 18–May 1, 2022
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.mariettaartalive.com
Tennessee
Artists on Location
Dates: April 18–23, 2022
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.knoxart.org
Texas
Paint the Town
Dates: April 24–30, 2022
Opening Reception: April 24, 2022
Sponsoring Organization: Highland Lakes Creative Arts
Venue: Lakeside Pavilion
City: Marble Falls, TX
Format: Juried
Award Total: $6,500
Contact: Erin Hinzmann
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 512.970.8087
Website: www.hlcarts.com/paint-the-town
From April 24–30, 2022, 35 plein air artists from across the nation will be working in various mediums to capture outdoor sights and scenes of historic Marble Falls and the Texas Hill Country surrounding it. For the full week, an expansive exhibition, sales gallery, live demonstrations, a Quick Draw, sunrise and nocturne painting, a local student competition, and nationally recognized judge Tim Newton choosing the award winners.
Coming in May: Plein Air Convention & Expo
Plan ahead and join us in Santa Fe, New Mexico, May 17-21 at the 9th Annual Plein Air Convention & Expo! [learn more and register today!]
