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Artist Jean LaRae uses her talents to create a beautiful scene during the 2018 Spring City Arts Plein Air painting competition. Artists from all over the west will converge on Spring City to participate in this year’s event Aug. 24-31. Cash prizes will be awarded, paintings will be available for purchase and artist studio tours will take place Saturday, Aug. 31, at Spring City Arts Gallery, 79 South Main. (Photo courtesy of Robert Stevens)

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Artist Linda Budd welcomed visitors to her Spring City studio during the 2018 Artist Studio Tour. The studio tour will again be available on Saturday, Aug. 31, from 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tickets are available from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., at Spring City Arts Gallery, 79 South Main. (Photo courtesy of Robert Stevens)

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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. 24-31.

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 schedule

The 2019 competition begins for participating artists on Saturday, Aug. 24 and the painting continues until 2 p.m., Friday, Aug. 30, when finished paintings must be turned in for judging.

Later that evening, 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. Competition winners will be announced, awards presented and the created artwork will be available for sale.

Quick paint

The morning of Saturday, Aug. 31, from dawn until 10 a.m., registered artists will participate in a “quick-paint” event along Main Street, Spring City. Between 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m., the finished paintings will be sold at auction, with bidding on-line and by phone.

Visitors are encouraged to come early and watch the artists at work, then purchase a favorite painting for home or business display.

Exhibition, sales

An exhibition and sale of works from the plein air competition will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., that Saturday, which is a great opportunity to add works by some remarkable artists to personal collections.

Artist studio tour

A number of prominent artists are expected to open their studios and galleries for visitors on Saturday, Aug. 31. Tickets for the Artist 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 10:30 a.m.-4:30 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. Visitors will obtain a map of the participating artists when they purchase tickets.

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 use 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

Jeff Horn, a terrific and widely collected California based painter of outdoor landscapes, is scheduled to serve as the judge of this year’s competition.

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 other cash and purchase awards will also be offered.

If the grand prize winner is a past grand prize winner of the event, then the judges will select an additional winner who is not 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.