If you’re in Sedona from Oct. 12 to 19, you might spot artists painting all over town. No, you’re not dreaming. You’re just seeing artists who are part of the annual Sedona Plein Air Festival. “It’s exciting for painters to see the work in the process of creation. That gives them an experience with the art work and the artist that you don’t get if you happen across a painting in a gallery,” says Vince Fazio, executive director of the Sedona Arts Center, the organization behind the festival.
The festival kicks off with an exhibition at the Sedona Arts Center where attendees can check out six works by each of the 25 jury-selected participating national artists. Look forward to educational events, a keynote address, an awards gala and three paint-outs where artists have a set amount of time to create a plein-air painting. During the rest of the festival, artists are free to paint throughout the Verde Valley. Check out the Arts Center’s social media feeds to see specifically where these artists are painting.
The first paint out is Oct. 16 at L’Auberge de Sedona hotel from 9 a.m. to noon. The second paint out is on Oct. 17 at Mariposa Restaurant from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Artists may choose to imagine the restaurant itself, paint on the lawn outside or the scenery surrounding the restaurant. The third Main Street Paint Out is on Oct. 19 from 10 a.m. to noon. Artists will be scattered around Uptown Sedona. Expect to see artists all along 89-A, by the Pink Jeep Café and on the balconies of The Matterhorn Inn. Your last chance to purchase a painting is on Oct. 19, where attendees also can enjoy free BBQ at the Plein Art Cookout. Some would say the festival embodies what Sedona is all about.
“It’s a very beautiful merging of the Sedona landscape we’re so known for and Sedona as an art colony,” says Vince. “And this is a dynamic relationship between those two major aspects of Sedona.” − Teresa K. Traverse
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