Palouse Plein Air, a regional annual outdoor painting competition, is set for Sept. 11-18 and online registration is open to all artists age 18 and older.
During the event, participants can paint outdoors at any location of their choosing within Latah, Nez Perce, Whitman, and Benewah counties. All painting media are eligible for competition, including gouache, watercolor, acrylic, and oil. There is no limit to the number of paintings a participant may make during the competition but each registered artist may enter a maximum of three finished works for exhibition.
Plein Air is French for “open air” and the 11-year-old competition is naturally aligned with social distancing parameters. There will be additional adaptations this year to protect people’s health, according to a news release from the City of Moscow Arts Department. In the past staff stamped artists’ canvases in order to verify they were created during the competition time frame. This year, participants will submit photographs of each painting on location along with photographs of finished works.
Staff members at the department and the Prichard Art Gallery plan to continue to tailor exhibition and jury methods to protect public health. If it is not safe to host an exhibition and reception at the Prichard Art Gallery, artists will be invited to share their works with the public in an online exhibition organized by the city.
Paintings will be judged by a juror and cash awards of $400, $200 and $100 will go to first, second and third place winners. Other honors are: Best Palouse, Best Downtown, Best Historical, Best Onsite Photos of Artwork, Student Awards, Honorable Mentions and Purchase Awards.
Registration fees for Palouse Plein Air are $25 per person or $20 for per student. More information and registration is available online at https://moscowarts.submittable.com/submit.
