The registration form for the 8th Annual Adirondack Plein Air Festival was posted on the Saranac Lake Art Works website at midnight on Monday, February 29th and the quota of 50 artists was reached by 7 am, March 1st.  The Plein Air Festival will take place August 15-20 in Saranac Lake with artists traveling from around the eastern United States and Canada.

Massachusetts artist John MacDonald is the Juror of Awards for the event. He will also be offering a plein air painting workshop on Sunday and Monday, August 14-15, prior to the Festival.

New York artist Frances Gaffney has been added to the workshop schedule, with “The Art of Expressive Drawing.” Participants will explore artists’ processes, build professional drawing tools and techniques and explore new ways of seeing. Drawing will be outdoors weather permitting. Registration information can be found on the Saranac Lake Art Works website. Both workshops require a $50 deposit to reserve a spot and participants do not have to be registered for the Plein Air Festival.

Tuesday, August 16th, is the first day of painting and all the participants are expected to be out on the trails at the Paul Smith’s College VIC. There is a BBQ dinner for the artists there that evening, so they can continue to paint until dark and spectators are welcome to watch. On Wednesday the artists are free to choose any locations they wish to paint.

Thursday is the “Paint the Town” day and all the artists will be out and about the village of Saranac Lake. Thursday is also one of the 3rd Thursday ArtWalks, so the village will be full of artists, craftspeople, and musicians from 5 – 7:30 that evening. Friday morning the artists are invited to paint the views of the mountains and the Saranac River from the Saranac Lake Fish & Game Club.

Friday afternoon the artists are all expected to deliver their framed paintings, created at the Festival, to the Harrietstown Town Hall for the Show & Sale. John MacDonald will review the paintings after they are hung to select the 12 prize winners. A Preview Party is scheduled for Friday evening. Tickets are $20 perperson and reservations can be made by contacting event coordinator, Sandra Hildreth at (518) 891-1388 or through the ArtWorks website. Awards will be presented at the Preview Party and attendees will be rewarded with the first opportunity to view and purchase works from the 300+ paintings that will likely be on display.

The free, public Show & Sale will open from noon to 5 pm in the Town Hall on Saturday August 20th.  Prior to the opening of the Show & Sale, Saturday morning, artists will be out on the sidewalks and parks in the village of Saranac Lake to take part in the Quick Draw Competition. They will have from 10 am – noon, to create a painting. At noon, they bring their easels and framed paintings over to the sidewalk outside the Town Hall for judging.

More information on the Adirondack Plein Air Festival can be found here, or by contacting event coordinator, Sandra Hildreth at (518) 891-1388.

Painting of plein air painter provided by Patricia Bellerose.