The 7th annual Black Hills Plein Air Paint Out will call Hill City its home base that weekend in September , with artists setting out on Thursday and Friday to settle themselves somwhere in the Hills where they will capture their immediate surroundings in watercolor , acrylic , pastel or oil paints .
“ It ’ s rain or shine ,” explained Kristie Van Bogart , president of the Hill City Arts Council ( HCAC ), which is the organization that sponsors the event . “ Our seasoned artists are always ready for whatever Black Hills weather comes their way .” Sunshine , clouds , fog ... all these can have a dramatic effect on the scene artists are painting . Thursday and Friday they have from 9 a . m . until 4:30 p . m . to paint their scenes , and all submissions must be framed and submitted by 5 p . m . Thursday and 4:30 p . m . Friday at Jon Crane Gallery .
Artists are allowed to bring two pieces of their artwork with them to be sold at the gallery ; these , as well as the plein air paintings , will be on display at Jon Crane Gallery starting Thursday . Because of space constraints , each artist can display and sell only two pieces of artwork , plein air or other , at a time .
“ Lori Nonnast , who owns Jon Crane Gallery , has been gracious enough to let us use the space for the event ,” Kristie explained . “ It is beautiful ; we all love the setting and it is the perfect facility .”
Thursday night is a private reception for the plein air artists at Chute Rooster , and Friday night is a mix of private and public . The private portion takes place from 6-7 p . m . and includes the sponsors and artists . From 7-8 p . m ., however , the public is invited to attend . While at the reception , the public can vote on their favorite for the People ’ s Choice award .
There are myriad other awards , with $ 2,000 in prizes awarded over the three-day event : Best of Show , Honorable Mention , Thursday Best of Day , Friday Best of Day , Best Downtown Hill City , Artists Choice and Best Quick Draw . Saturday is a special day for the event . “ In years past , everyone has been so curious to watch the artists as they paint ,” Kristie said , “ but we don ’ t ever know — and sometimes the artists don ’ t even know — where they will be painting . So we decided to switch it up a bit this year and give folks the opportunity to watch .”
To that end , Saturday ’ s event will take place downtown Hill City . All 20 artists will find a location downtown and paint there . It ’ s what is known as the Quick Draw event as it ’ s from only 9 a . m . to 11:30 a . m . You can find the plein air artists scattered throughout the downtown area .
“ We ’ re calling it our ‘ Art on Main ’ feature event ,” said Kristie . “ It ’ s an opportunity for everyone to not only watch the artists as they create , but also to enjoy the downtown galleries and merchants , as well as shopping and dining .” There will also be other artists at some of the galleries and merchants , so Kristie said everyone should be sure to visit them ; they are the highlight of Art on Main .
Saturday ’ s paintings will be submitted at the Pack Mule by noon for judging , and there will be a live auction at 12:30 p . m .
Kristie also encourages everyone to make time to visit Hill City ’ s three major public works of art : Iron Star outside of Jewel of the West ; Smokey Bear at Dahl Chainsaw Art ; and Patriarch at the intersection of Railroad Ave . and the Hwy . 16 / 385 bypass .
“ We are lucky to have these in our community ,” Kristie said . “ They are real highlights for us .”
This year ’ s judge will be an associate professor of art from Black Hills State University , J . Desy Schoenewies . She will act as juror over all the categories except People ’ s Choice and Thursday ’ s Best of Day , which will be judged by Lori Nonnast .
The HCAC advertises in an international plein air magazine , inviting artists from all over the world to apply to be a part of the Black Hills Plein Air Paint Out . There are artists who return year after year because they ’ ve had such a wonderful experience , but there are also newcomers every year .
As president of the HCAC , Kristie has an active role in all their large events throughout the year , but also wanted to give a special thanks to Emily Rowe for spearheading the plein air event .
Live on Stage , which takes place from January through March annually , as well as Fine Arts in the Hills ( FAITH ) on Father ’ s Day weekend are Hill City Arts Council ’ s two other major events .
Hill City Arts Council , according to Kristie , “ strives to enrich the cultural life of the area by nurturing and supporting excellence in the arts , and by providing opportunities for area citizens , students and visitors to experience the arts in a variety of forms .”
You can visit Hill City Arts Council at hillcityarts . org and hillcityarts . org / plein-air for the artists , awards , full schedule of events and more information on the annual Black Hills Plein Air Paint Out .
Roger Ellingson makes himself comfortable while he paints on Main Street Hill City .
Plein Air Artists from around the United States meet in Hill City to paint the beautiful Black Hills .
The Jon Crane Gallery is host to the Artists wet paintings at the Black Hills Plein Air Paint Out .
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