Carmel on Canvas Plein Air event begins today
Watch art created before your very eyes at the annual Carmel on Canvas Plein Air event – an open-air painting exhibition and competition on the sidewalks throughout the Carmel Arts & Design District, Midtown, Carmel City Center, the City Hall Japanese Gardens and new this year, Carmel’s Central Park with its 161 acres of green space.
More than three dozen artists from around the country will be at the event, which is free to spectators, and runs Friday, Sept. 16 to Sunday, Sept. 18.
“Carmel on Canvas is a great way to bring many artists from across the Midwest to create works of art using Carmel’s Arts & Design District as their inspiration,” Mayor Jim Brainard said. “One of my favorite aspects of this event is that the artists interact with the public who are able to see the works of art created. Our desire is to grow this event to be the best plein air paint out in the country.”
Artists ranging from professionals to amateurs, including both teen and children’s divisions, will be painting at a variety of locations for the plein air event all day Friday and Saturday. Artists can register for the Plein Air Paint Out at the Indiana Design Center (200 S. Range Line Road) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday. The public is invited to come and watch the painters set up their easels and paint their chosen subjects. The artists’ works will be for sale, so you could negotiate a price before the paint has even dried.
A quick paint event will take place for registered artists on Saturday at the Carmel Farmers Market (2 Carter Green) where winning paintings will be determined by a community vote by market visitors. The winning artists will take home a $300 first place prize, a $200 second place award and a $100 third place spot, as well as the $50 child merit award.
Also on Saturday, children can paint at the Kids Zones from noon to 3 p.m., with two locations in the Arts & Design District, including Magdalena Gallery of Art (27 E. Main St.) and The Carmel Arts Council Children’s Art Gallery (40 W. Main St.).
The plein air artworks created on Friday and Saturday will be judged by artist and art teacher Steve Puttrich of Chicago, who has been making and teaching art for more than 35 years and currently teaches at Chicago’s Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Art at the Morton Arboretum and Chicago Botanic Garden.
The Plein Air Reception and public viewing takes place at 5 p.m. on Saturday where the paintings will be available for viewing and for sale before the judging at 6 p.m. Artist awards include a $3,000 grand prize, $2,000 for second place, $1,500 for third and $1,000 for fourth. Award winners will be announced on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at the judging tent at the Indiana Design Center (200 S. Range Line Road).
Sunday’s art fair will feature works created by Carmel on Canvas artists from noon to 4 p.m. It will be set up along Artists’ Lane, which is nestled within the popular Carmel PorchFest event at 2nd Street NW between 1st Avenue NW and 2nd Avenue NW.
Carmel on Canvas artists also have the opportunity to compete for Purchase Awards by painting the sponsoring establishment and winning the listed monetary prize. Those winners will also be chosen on Saturday night.
Thank you to the following Carmel Arts & Design District businesses for offering Purchase Awards:
- Bazbeaux Pizza
- Bub’s Burgers & Ice Cream
- divvy
- Hotel Carmichael
- Indiana Design Center
- Java House
- Monterey Coastal Cuisine
- Woody’s Library Restaurant
Public parking is available in the Carmel Lions Club lot (141 E. Main St.), Sophia Square parking garage (entrance off 1st Avenue NW), Indiana Design Center parking garage (200 S. Range Line Road) or available on-street public parking. Click here to download the Arts & Design District parking map.