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| "Morning Hike" 12x24 Oil (Escalante Petrified Forest State Park) This is the one I submitted for the Oil Category. Awards will be given tomorrow, Thursday. |
This week, I’m in Escalante, Utah, at the edge of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, for the Escalante Canyons Art Festival. Until now, all the plein air events I’ve been part of were either invitational or juried. This is my first “open” event.
I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I’ve found that, in a way, it’s a more egalitarian event. Rather than promoting a few invited (or juried) artists, the event doesn’t promote any one painter over another. In fact, when I asked for a list of participating artists, I was told there wasn’t one. And although there are different competition categories you might enter, you’re only allowed to submit one painting per category. So, rather than a few invited artists crowding the walls with all the paintings made during the week, there are about 70, with each artist submitting his single best piece. The paintings remain unsigned, giving each artist a fairer shot at the awards. (With the juried/invitational events, each artist has his own wall with his name on it in big letters, and even though judges try to be impartial….)
I’ll have more to say about the event when it’s over, but I wanted to put out the word before the public sale to let everyone know I am here and will have not just my main painting for sale but also others in the “overflow” tent. The public sale is Friday and Saturday, 9-6, in the Town Park. Details on the event are here: https://escalantecanyonsartfestival.org/
The paintings I show here are ones I’ve done thus far. I’ll have more as the week continues. (If the images look odd or weak, it's because I'm traveling and editing images with Snapseed on my smartphone. It's hard to see on those tiny screens....)
I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I’ve found that, in a way, it’s a more egalitarian event. Rather than promoting a few invited (or juried) artists, the event doesn’t promote any one painter over another. In fact, when I asked for a list of participating artists, I was told there wasn’t one. And although there are different competition categories you might enter, you’re only allowed to submit one painting per category. So, rather than a few invited artists crowding the walls with all the paintings made during the week, there are about 70, with each artist submitting his single best piece. The paintings remain unsigned, giving each artist a fairer shot at the awards. (With the juried/invitational events, each artist has his own wall with his name on it in big letters, and even though judges try to be impartial….)
I’ll have more to say about the event when it’s over, but I wanted to put out the word before the public sale to let everyone know I am here and will have not just my main painting for sale but also others in the “overflow” tent. The public sale is Friday and Saturday, 9-6, in the Town Park. Details on the event are here: https://escalantecanyonsartfestival.org/
The paintings I show here are ones I’ve done thus far. I’ll have more as the week continues. (If the images look odd or weak, it's because I'm traveling and editing images with Snapseed on my smartphone. It's hard to see on those tiny screens....)
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| "A Fine View" 9x12 Oil (Napoleon Pioneer Historic Home) |
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| "Threatening Rain" 12x24 Oil (Smokey Mountain Road...somewhere!) |
