What is Plein Air-Easton!?

Plein Air-Easton! is an annual arts festival and competition in its 9th year. The festival is the work of the non-profit Avalon Foundation. The object of Plein Air-Easton! is to expose the area’s vibrant arts community to a larger market and to raise funds to support the festival and the Foundation. Artists are juried into the festival from hundreds of worldwide applicants. The artists that are selected for the competition make up some of the best plein air painters in the country. They travel to Easton, Maryland (located on the Chesapeake Bay) and paint for five days competing for over $19,000 in prizes. The paintings produced during the week are exhibited in a local accredited museum and sold throughout the weekend. The entire community mobilizes in celebration of this event. Plein Air-Easton! and its community partners produce many events throughout the week including workshops, demonstrations, concerts and ticketed events.

This year’s festival is July 15-21, 2013. Host family housing will be open for artists beginning on July 10, 2013. Artist Registration, Orientation and Canvas Stamping will occur the evening of July 12. Plein Air-Easton! will host a Meet the Artist Dinner and Paint Out for the competing artists, the organization’s top collectors and donors on July 13. Public facing events begin in earnest from July 15-21.

Why should I apply?

Plein Air-Easton! is a juried competition with a new jurist and judge each year. Any artist who paints en plein air may apply. With only the top award winners receiving automatic entry into the competition, the festival tends to see 1/3 to 1/2 new artists each year. Plein Air-Easton! represents a meaningful opportunity for emerging artists to gain national recognition. PleinAir Magazine called Plein Air-Easton! "one of the most rewarding outdoor Arts Festivals in the USA." With a reputation for strong organization, growing sales, a beautiful landscape and fun; Plein Air-Easton! has become a "must paint" for many of the world’s top painters.

What should I expect if I get in?

You should expect to visit a beautiful waterfront community full of welcoming people. You should expect an event that is well organized and values artists. You should expect fierce competition from top plein air artists. You should expect lavish parties and opportunities to connect with art buyers. You should plan on making friends and establishing contacts. You should expect it to be hot, very hot and humid. You should expect to have fun and leave tired. You should expect to want to return the next year!

I live locally what is different for me?

Plein Air-Easton! has always sought to elevate and highlight the local arts community. If your primary residence is in any of the five counties surrounding Easton (Kent, Queen Anne, Talbot, Caroline or Dorchester), please indicate so on your registration form. After the jurist chooses the 2013 slate (based on the images of all applicants, including those that live locally), he will be presented with the images of all the "local" artists of which he will choose three (that have not already been chosen) to participate in the Festival. This will give local artists two chances to be juried into PAE. Artists juried into the festival through this process will not be designated.

Registration and Event Details and Rules:

Important Dates:

March 8, 2013, 5:00pm EST – All entries must be received.

March 29, 2013 – the List of 2013 Plein Air-Easton! competition artists will be posted online at www.pleinaireaston.com and all competing artists will be emailed registration information with the correspondence necessary to confirm participation.

July 10, 2013 – Host Family Housing is available

July 12, 2013-Artist Orientation

July 12-19, 2013 – Artists produce competition paintings

July 13, 2013-Meet the Artists Dinner & Paint Out

July 18 and/or July 19, 2013 – Artists submit paintings for judging, exhibition and sales

July 19, 2013 – Mandatory Collectors’ Preview Party at the Academy Art Museum. The event opens to ticketed collectors at 7pm.

July 20 & 21 – Exhibit and sales continue, workshops, lectures, quick draw competitions and more! All unsold paintings must be collected by artists at 4pm on July 21.

How is Plein Air-Easton! Juried/Judged?

Plein Air-Easton! names a new jurist and judge each year. Jurists are sent the digital images submitted by those who apply. Be sure to give us files that will present well on a computer monitor. The images are presented in numbered folders with each folder representing an artist and containing their three numbered images. The jurist submits a list of numbers to the Festival’s executive team who convert the numbers back to names and announce the list of competition artists.

All competition paintings are eligible to win prizes that are awarded by the competition judge at the Collectors’ Preview Party.

2013 Competition Jurist, Peter Trippi-Mr. Trippi is the editor of Fine Art Connoisseur, the bimonthly magazine that serves collectors of historical and contemporary representational painting, sculpture, drawings, and prints.

2013 Competition Judge, Don Demers -Mr. Demers is one of the finest marine and landscape painters in America. The exemplary level of his paintings has placed them in some of the most prestigious public and private collections in the country. Demers is a highly sought-after instructor; his teaching has taken him around the United States and Europe. His work as an illustrator has been honored four times in the annual exhibition of the Society of Illustrators. Demers’ marine paintings have garnered him a record 21 awards at the Mystic International Marine Exhibition, including the prestigious Rudolph J. Schaefer Award.

He has received awards for his landscape painting from the Joan Irving Museum in Irvine, California, the Laguna Plein Air Invitational, and the Guild of Boston Artists. Demers is a Fellow of the American Society of Marine Artists, an elected member of the Guild of Boston Artists, a Signature Member of the Plein Air Painters of America, an elected member of the Salmagundi Club, and an elected member of the California Art Club.

Demers was born in 1956, in the small, rural community of Lunenburg, Massachusetts. His interest in painting maritime subjects began while spending his summers on the coast of Maine near Boothbay Harbor. After finishing an exemplary high school art program, he furthered his education at the School of the Worcester Art Museum and the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. Demers’ maritime experience came about as a crewmember aboard many traditional sailing vessels including schooners and squareriggers. He continues to be an avid sailor.

What about awards?

Awards will total over $19,000. First Place (the Timothy E Dills Memorial Award) is $5,000, with Second and Third place awards presented at $2,000 and $1,000 respectively. The remaining monies will be distributed among other awards of merit and other named awards which will be announced prior to the competition.

Competition Artists Must Agree to:

Paint within specified areas from July 12-21, 2013

Turn in two completed, framed and ready to be hung artworks by no later than July 19, 2013 at 11am. Work must be a two-dimensional medium with a 36inchX42inch maximum canvas size. All work must be completed en plein air without the assistance of photography

Attend the Collectors’ Preview Party at 7pm on July 19, 2013

Pick up any work that is not sold on July 21, 2013 at 4pm or make arrangements for shipping

Agree that from one week prior to the event and until one week after the competition, to not sell any work done during Plein Air-Easton! without paying a 40% commission to the hosting organization (Avalon Foundation). The same commission will apply to any work commissioned during or as a result of participation in Plein Air-Easton!

Agree to price work with a retail price commensurate with their normal pricing structure

Allow images of work entered into the competition to be used by the Avalon Foundation for publicity purposes

Competition Artists should consider:

Attending an Orientation on July 12 in order to get briefed on the comprehensive rules and get canvases stamped

Enjoying the Meet the Artists Dinner and Paint Out, on July 13, to meet collectors & donors!

Taking advantage of host family housing as a great way to reduce travel costs and get to know this community

Arriving early (host family housing begins on July 10) to get settled and to participate in any Pre-Plein Air activities

Providing up to eight additional plein air paintings from home or that are produced during the week to replace competition paintings as they are sold

How do I apply?

Artists may apply online or by mail. All applications must be complete and received by no later than March 8, 2013 at 5:00pm EST. Artists must submit 3 high resolution jpeg images (72dpi jpgs at least 1024 pixels wide or long on their longest edge, but not more that 4megabytes in file size.) of plein air paintings produced within the past two years, complete a registration form, agree to the terms and conditions of the Festival and pay a $35 non-refundable registration fee.

Complete your application, upload your images and submit payment online (Submissions Closed for 2013)

Or

Download the Mail Entry form (Submission Period Closed)

I have additional questions. What should I do?

Email us at info@pleinaireaston.com or give us a call at 410-822-7297 with any questions about PAE or if you are having trouble with the registration process.

Plein Air-Easton! Entry Form 2013

Applicants must complete the following form, enclose 3 digital high resolution jpeg images of plein air work painted in the past two years and a $35 check made payable to the Avalon Foundation, Inc. Completed applications should be mailed to:

Plein Air-Easton!

C/O Avalon Foundation, Inc.

40 East Dover Street

Easton, MD 21601

All applications MUST be received by March 8, 2013 at 5:00pm EST

Name: ___________________________

Mailing Address: __________________________

City:__________________________

State: __________________

Zip Code:________________

Telephone:_________________

Email: ___________________________

Website (if applicable): _________________________

Is your primary residence located in any of the following Maryland Counties: Kent, Queen Anne, Talbot, Caroline or Dorchester? ( ) Yes ( ) No

By entering the Plein Air-Easton! competition, exhibit and sale, I affirm that I have read the entire prospectus and by signing this entry form I agree to be bound by all terms outlined in it. If I am accepted, I understand that I am expected to participate in both the plein air competition and the exhibit and sale. From one week prior to the event and until one week after the competition, I agree to not sell any work done during Plein Air-Easton! unless I pay 40% commission to the hosting organization. The same commission will apply to any work commissioned during or as result of my participation in Plein Air – Easton! My paintings which I exhibit must be priced with a retail price commensurate with my normal pricing structure. A 40% commission on all works sold will be retained by the Avalon

Foundation, Inc. and all sales will be handled by representatives of the Avalon Foundation, Inc. Images of work that I enter into the competition may be used by same organization for publicity purposes.

Signature _________________________ Date__________________________