Awards were announced October 12th!
Best of Show
by Ken Martin
To see all of the winners, click here.
2008 Saint Charles Plein Air Competition
....presented by the Saint Charles Riverfront Arts
The Saint Charles Riverfront Arts is pleased to announce the 2008 Saint Charles Plein Air Competition. The term Plein Air is French for “in the open air” . Competitions such as this encourage artists to paint outdoors in areas that not only are picturesque but also will encourage the public to become engaged in their process of painting. The Saint Charles Riverfront Arts offers artists an ideal environment to create and become inspired. As the oldest city on the Missouri River, Saint Charles is known for its rich heritage. This includes being the First State Capitol, the departure point for the Lewis & Clark Expedition, and home to restored 200 year old buildings along Historic Main Street and in the Frenchtown District. Artists will have 11 days to complete their works of art, which must be created completely on site, outdoors within the designated boundaries surrounding the Historic Districts (see map). Artists are also encouraged to participated in the scheduled Quick Paint Competitions where they will be asked to complete a painting within three hours at the designated locations.
Painting will take place October 1- 11, 2008 with a
Show and Sale on October 12 at the Foundry Art Centre
This event is open to any artist 18 years of age or older interested in painting/drawing within the designated boundaries in Saint Charles. Participants must paint/draw en plein air. Artists will be asked to check in each day they come out to paint at Framations, that way the general public can learn where they can find artists painting, as well as artists being able to find their colleagues. Gallery hours are Tuesday - Saturday 10-6 and Sunday 12-5. Extended hours and Monday hours will be announced soon. The public is invited to stop by and find out who is painting and where they are located that day!
There will be four categories for judging: Acrylic; Oil; Watercolor; and Drawing/Pastel. Each of these four categories will have a 1st Place ($150 cash), 2nd Place ($100), 3rd Place ($75). There will also be a Best of Show ($300) and Artists’ Choice ($100) Total Purse of $1,700. The Judge for this event will be John DenHouter. John is an associate professor of art Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, teaching painting, drawing, and design. He earned a Masters Degree in medical illustration from the University of Michigan as well as a MFA in painting from Eastern Michigan University. His work has been exhibited regionally and nationally in numerous group and solo exhibitions as well as appearing in New American Paintings.
There will be 3 Quick Paint Competitions. Click here for more info on those.
A show and sale of these works will take place on Sunday, October 12 from 1-4pm. This will coincide with the reception for the Mentor Me program at the Foundry Art Centre from 1-3pm. This will be open to the public and artists will be invited to display/sell any works created of Saint Charles during the time of the event.
