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Artist Steven Heward, Sandy, created this beautiful scene which was chosen by judges as the winning painting in the 2017 Spring City Arts Plein Air painting competition. Heward won a cash prize of $1,500, and Zions Bank purchased the painting. (Photo courtesy of Chris Anderson)

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Artists from all over the west will converge on Spring City to participate in the annual plein air competition Aug. 28-Sept. 1. Cash prizes will be awarded, paintings will be available for purchase and artist studio tours will take place on Saturday, Sept. 1, at Spring City Arts Gallery, 79 South Main. (Photo courtesy of Chris Anderson)

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The annual Spring City Arts Plein Air Competition and artist studio tours will bring artists and visitors flocking into the area for a chance to create or view masterpiece artistic works from Aug. 28- Sept. 1.

Plein air is a French expression which means “in the open air” and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors, which is also called peinture sur le motif, “painting on the ground” in French.

Spring City is the perfect location in Sanpete valley to paint in the open air and to enjoy camaraderie, share ideas or just take in the magnificent scenery and appreciate the talents of others. It’s an opportunity to see artists at work outside and get a glimpse of their studios inside.

Competition begins

The 2018 competition begins for participating artists on Tuesday, Aug. 28 and the painting continues until 5 p.m., Friday, Aug. 31, when finished paintings must be turned in for judging.

Later that same day from 7-9 p.m., a Plein Air Art Show Preview and reception for participating artists and visitors will take place at the Spring City Arts Gallery, 79 South Main Street.

Quick paint, awards

The morning of Saturday, Sept. 1, from dawn until 10 a.m., registered artists will participate in a “quick-paint” event along Main Street, Spring City. At 10 a.m., winners of the plein air competition will be announced, and awards presented.

Auction, sales

At 11 a.m., paintings created during the Saturday morning “quick-paint” will be sold during a live auction. Visitors are encouraged to come early and watch the artists at work, then purchase a favorite painting for home or business display.

An exhibition and sale of works from the plein air competition will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., that Saturday, which is a great opportunity to add works by some remarkable artists to personal collections.

Artist studio tours

Participating artists will open their studios and galleries for visitors on Saturday, Sept. 1. Tickets for the studio tour can be purchased that Saturday, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., at Spring City Arts Gallery, 79 South Main.

The studio tours will take place from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Those who take the tour should be on the watch for additional artworks which will be on sale at most of the tour locales. A number of prominent artists are expected to participate in the Artist Studio Tour.

Those who purchase tickets will obtain a map to the artist studios and can proceed from the Spring City Arts Gallery to the individual artist studios of choice.

While visiting the Spring City Arts Gallery, be sure to take some time and view the art on display in the gallery. Those who do will see a great representation of local artwork.

Basic Plein Air rules

Artists participating in this plein air event may paint anywhere in Sanpete County; its cities, farms, mountains and streams and of course in Spring City. Possible images could include historic streets, structures, pastoral vistas, mountain and stream scenes and agricultural subjects.

Participants may paint up to four plein air works for submission, following registration of blank canvases. All traditional plein air painting mediums are acceptable, but work must be created “en plein air”, painted outdoors, on-site, without the assistance of photography or technology.

Artists who participate in the Saturday morning “quick-paint” will be allowed to us photos for reference, but only during that morning’s event.

All paintings created during the competition will be available for purchase during the Saturday sale.

Applications for the painting competition may be downloaded online from the Spring City Arts website at: www.springcityarts.com.

Judging

John Poon has consented to be a judge for the Spring City Arts 2018 Plein Air Painting Competition. He is a painter and man of great merit. He left behind the life of an instructor and administrator for the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Poon and his wife, Jenny, moved to Wyoming and then Utah, where they now live with their seven children.

Despite his busy life, Poon’s paintings have proven their quality over the years by consistently becoming part of numerous collections and receiving national awards.

Some of his accolades include Landscape of Merit from the highly and competitive and prestigious national show, Arts for the Parks in Jackson, WY; Artists’ Choice at the Sonoma Plein Air; and Best of Show in the Society of Western Artists annual national competition.

Poon is a plein air painter, painting out in the landscape, rising to the challenge of changing light, fleeting time and weather. He quickly finds the structure of a landscape and uses this knowledge to simplify the fields, mountains, clouds, and architecture into purposeful brushstrokes, expressing the striking beauty of a moment in time.

John Poon has been given the Distinguished Alumni Award for 2012 from The Academy of Art University and has been featured in many articles and national periodicals including Southwest Art, The American Art Collector and most recently Plein Air Magazine.

Competition prizes

Participating artists will be competing for cash prizes. $1,500 for the winner, $1,000 for second place and $500 for third place. Honorable mention awards include a $100 cash prize. A number of purchase awards will also be offered.

This year, to provide additional opportunities for new winners the award rules have been changed. If the winner of a first, second or third place award is a past first place winner of the event, then the judges will also award another prize at the same level to an artist who has not been a past grand prize winner.

About hosts, sponsors

Spring City Arts is a non-profit organization of artists working in Spring City and Sanpete County and is hosting these events. Zions Bank, the law firm of Durham Jones and Pinegar and Sanpete County Economic Development are sponsors.

Collectors interested in sponsoring purchase awards should contact Chris Anderson online via Spring City Arts website at: www.springcityarts.com.