Plein Air Season - Let The Games Begin!

It has been a year since I last posted. I have had several people state that they miss the blog, so I think I'll give it another whirl. This weekend my summer plein air season begins. I have been juried into several competitions that will take me through to the end of October.

Below are all the competitions that I have been juried into. Two of the events in () I will not be participating in because events overlapped, or I am an alternate

Paint Annapolis • May 30 - June 5
Mountain Maryland • June 7 - June 11
(Bucks County, PA) same week as Mountain Maryland
(Easels of Frederick, Frederick MD • June 13 - June 18 ALTERNATE)
Richmond Plein Air, Richmond VA • June 19 - June 26
Ellicott City, Ellicott City, MD • July 7 - July 11
Paint the Peninsula, Port Angeles WA • August 21 - 27
Solomons Island Plein Air, Solomons MD • September 12-18

Plein Air Competitions are usually a week long event. Artists apply to these events by submitting 3-5 images of their current plein air paintings and sometimes a bio. 25 - 35 artists are then selected(or juried in) by a judge. Most events, artists will stay with a host family. When the event begins, artists have their blank canvases stamped proving that all paintings are done during the week long competition. Artists then spend the week painting within a geographical boundry established by the competition. At the end of a very long week (sometimes painting up to three paintings in a day), after all types of painting conditions, rain, heat, fog, clouds, dark nights and beautiful sun, the artists will frame their paintings for a show. The paintings are judged for awards. All the paintings, sometimes a show of 300 to 500 paintings, are for sale and it always amazes me, that they were all painted within a week. The event usually ends on a Saturday or Sunday with a Quick Paint or Quick Draw. All the juried artists and often community artists, all join within a couple of blocks and paint a painting within a two hour window. Those paintings are then framed and judged for additional awards.

These week competitions are very competitive, exhausting, and stressful. But, yes they are also so much FUN!!!! The juried artists that I have had the pleasure of working with for the past two years are a great group of painters. A lot of the same painters will be in the same events. Sometimes feels like we are Carnival workers or "Carnies" moving from show to show...

So, time to get this blog up and running. Let the games begin!