The ninth annual Olmsted Plein Air Invitational returns to the Atlanta area for a week of plein air painting activities that begin at sunrise on April 15. For the first three days of the competition, the esteemed roster of 25 artists can paint anywhere in Georgia, from the coast to the mountains, small towns and cities, but must return to Atlanta for the remainder of the invitational which concludes on April 23.
Neal Hughes’ Crane’s Store won Best in Show in 2022.“The landscape in our state and throughout metro Atlanta is spectacular,” says event co-founder and chair Lillian Ansley. “The beautiful Smoky Mountains can be captured in less than an hour and a half from Atlanta. Artists will have access to gorgeous historic neighborhoods, rolling hills, barns and livestock, beautiful urban and small towns, rivers and lakes all within a 20-mile radius of Atlanta.”
A pop-up gallery, hosted by the Druid Hills Golf Club in the city’s historic district, will open on Tuesday, April 17, featuring 150-plus previously completed works by the artists. Over the course of the week the exhibition and sale will grow to 350 works with fresh paintings added daily.
More than two dozen nationally recognized plein air painters will take to the streets in and around Atlanta in a week-long competition and sale.
At the end of the event, artists will select their best work and submit it for the competition, which will be judged at the Artist Award Ceremony and Soirée on Saturday, April 22. Last year, a $40,000 purse was awarded.Art collectors, enthusiasts, and the curious are invited to share in the experiences all week as these talented artists create their masterworks. An abundance of extracurricular events will happen throughout the week including artist talks and demonstrations, entertainment, a PopUp Prosecco in the Park & Petite Gallery Stroll, the Awards and Collectors Soirée, and the popular PaintQuick competition and sale in historic Fredrick Law Olmsted Linear Park.
The Olmsted Plein Air Invitational will culminate in a judged competition for which the artists will enter the best piece they created during the weeklong event.
Nearly 150 works of art will be on display at the start of the festival and added to as the painters complete pieces over the course of the week.
Most activities and events are free and open to the public and make for a unique opportunity to add a special piece you watched being created to your collection. The full schedule of events and details can be found at www.olmstedpleinair.com.
“Atlanta is a very diverse city and allowing the public to experience the creation of collectible paintings by nationally acclaimed artists brings everyone together,” says Ansley. “Art heals; art gives hope; art brings joy.” —
Olmsted Plein Air Invitational
When: April 15-23, 2023
Where: Various locations in and around Atlanta, GA
Information: www.olmstedpleinair.com
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