Show Preview | Escalante Canyons Art Festival

Escalante, UT
Escalante Community Center, September 23-24

Loretta Domaszewski, Winter Thaw, oil, 8 x 10.

This story was featured in the August 2016 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art August 2016 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

Artists, collectors, and art enthusiasts travel to the canyons of southern Utah this September for the 13th annual Escalante Canyons Art Festival. Located at the heart of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in the town of Escalante, the weeklong event includes a plein-air competition, artists’ demonstrations, and an art show and sale. “It’s a celebration of art and place,” says festival co-director Allysia Angus. “A big part of the event is to establish this community and region as a place for art and artists.”

From September 16 to 21, more than 100 artists paint throughout a three-county region that spans the beautifully rugged national monument and its equally stunning neighbors: Capitol Reef National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Bryce Canyon National Park, and the Dixie National Forest. The sky is truly the limit as artists take their pick among red-rock country, sandstone canyons, alpine forests, and pastoral farmland, producing works in oil, pastel, watercolor, and mixed media. The result is a variety of fresh approaches, says plein-air coordinator Ruthanne Oliver. “This is a competition for every single skill level,” she adds.

Junior-level categories allow students in kindergarten through high school to join the competition alongside seasoned artists such as Mary Jabens, Bonnie Griffith, Brad Holt, Paula Swain, Gail Denton, and Valerie Orlemann. All of the artists are also invited to paint by moonlight at a nocturne paint-out on September 17 and at a daylong paint-out on September 20 that celebrates public lands. “Because it’s a working festival, collectors can see their favorite artists in action,” says Oliver.

The juried art show and sale takes place at Escalante Community Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on September 23 and 24. The plein-air exhibit spotlights one selected work from each artist, but other fresh paintings by the artists are on display, too, and the center hosts a concurrent exhibit of oils by artist-in-residence Loretta Domaszewski.

“The festival provides a great opportunity for collectors at all levels to buy an original piece,” sums up Angus. Paintings shown here are representative of the artists’ work. —Kim Agricola

contact information
435.616.1075
www.escalantecanyonsartfestival.org