St. Charles’ Plein Air arts festival will run Aug. 19-25

The St. Charles Arts Council will host Plein Air - St. Charles from Aug. 19-25, where painters from across the country will vie for $5,000 in awards as they paint outdoor scenes from throughout Kane County.

Plein air is the act of painting outdoors. The event will include demonstrations, competitions and other events each day as 40 artists will bring their talents to Kane County, take their supplies outside and paint the scenery in front of them.

Plein Air-St. Charles will include events celebrating creativity throughout the week, including artist demonstrations, a Quick Paint competition, nocturnal paint events, creative writing and mindful creativity events open to community members.

Artwork created during the event will be for sale and on display at a FreshPaint Party hosted at the Baker Community Center on Saturday, Aug. 24.

“This is a chance for community members to be the first to view and purchase paintings from the Plein Air event,” SCAC Executive Director Kathryn Hill said in a news release. “Our FreshPaint Party will be the culmination of a lot of energy and talent! There will be approximately 160 pieces of art available to view while you enjoy culinary delights from The Graceful Ordinary and witness the awards ceremony.”

The daily event lineup is as follows:

• Monday, Aug. 19: Artist Registration and painting begins!
• Tuesday, Aug. 20: Free demonstration by artist Steve Puttrich at 10 a.m. in Lincoln Park.
• Wednesday, Aug. 21:
• A Quick Paint Competition will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. at Mt. St. Mary Park. Entry costs $20, and the event is open to all community artists, who can compete for a chance to win a $500 prize. The tent will open at 1:30 p.m. for artists to set up their easels, painting will begin at 2 p.m., and prizes will be awarded after the artwork is judged.
• A Creative Writing Event will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. in the pavilion at Mt. St. Mary Park. Community writers are welcome to join the free event hosted by the St. Charles Writers Group.
• A Mindful Creativity event will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. in the pavilion at Mt. St. Mary Park where free immersive art activities will be open to community members of all ages.
• An Artist Meet and Greet will be held at 6 p.m. at 116 Gallery, located at 116 W. Main St. Guests will have a chance to browse the quick paint competition entries and meet the artists.
• Thursday, Aug. 22: Plein Air artists will be painting around downtown St. Charles for community members to observe and engage with.
• Friday, Aug. 23: Plein Air artists will be painting around Kane County for community members to observe and engage with.
• Saturday, Aug. 24: The FreshPaint Party will be held at 6 p.m. at the Baker Community Center. Guests will have the first chance to browse the artwork from the week, see the awards ceremony and enjoy hors d’oeuvres from The Graceful Ordinary. Tickets cost $125 per person.
• Sunday, Aug. 25: The Sunday Sales event will feature all the artwork from the week, which will be available for guests to browse and purchase from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Baker Community Center. The free event will be open to the public with music and food trucks on site.

The artwork awarded best in show will receive a $2,000 prize, second place will receive $1,000 and third place will receive $500. Nocturne artwork can be painted any evening from Monday through Friday, and will be judged separately. The best in show of the Nocturne category will receive $1,000.

To purchase tickets to the FreshPaint Party and for information about the daily events, competition guidelines or the artists that will be featured, visit the event webpage at stcharlesartscouncil.org/plein-air-event.html.

For more information and additional questions, contact St. Charles Arts Council Executive Director Kathryn Hill at 630-269-6938 or email info@stcharlesartscouncil.org.