Various locations, Laguna Beach, CA
October 1-9
Carl Bretzke, Valley Below, oil, 16 x 20.
Every October the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association turns scenic Laguna Beach, CA, into an outdoor painting studio when it invites 35 award-winning plein-air artists from around the country to paint the town—as well as its stunning ocean views, coves, and nearby canyons.
The 24th annual Laguna Beach Plein Air Painting Invitational preserves the city’s century-old artistic legacy and plein-air painting tradition, which helped establish Laguna Beach as a thriving artists’ colony. “The invitational is one of the most prestigious plein-air events in the country, and it offers the chance to see the best of the best of the artists in the country in one place,” says Rosemary Swimm, LPAPA executive director.
- Jane Hunt, Quietude, oil, 12 x 20.
- Ryan Jensen, Painters on the Beach, oil, 9 x 12. (Photo credit: Mitch Ridder)
- Mark Fehlman, Let’s Take a Walk, oil, 12 x 24.
The nine-day competition kicks off on Saturday, October 1, as the artists acclimate to their surroundings and begin their plein-air painting works. Returning artists include Rick J. Delanty, Kathleen B. Hudson, Calvin Liang, Ryan Jensen, and last year’s Best in Show award winner, Carl Bretzke. First-time invitational artists are Geoff Allen, Rebecca Arguello, Danny Griego, Catherine Hillis, Krentz Johnson, Tiffanie Mang, David Savellano, Lisa Skelly, Haidee-Jo Summers, and Brenda Swenson. “I believe this might be the first time that we have 12 female artists participating, as well as our first international artist, Haidee-Jo, from Great Britain,” Swimm says.
From sunrise to sunset throughout the week, art lovers and collectors can watch and visit with the artists as they immortalize the idyllic sights en plein air. Sunday offers the crowd-pleasing Quick Draw Painting Competition from 9 to 11 a.m. in Heisler Park, located near the heart of the city. Immediately following the competition, the artists head to the nearby Laguna Festival of Arts to prep their works for the afternoon’s silent auction. A ticketed lunch with the artists takes place from noon to 1 p.m., followed by the free artists’ meet and greet and silent auction from 1 to 3 p.m.
Another not-to-be-missed event is Tuesday’s Laguna Plein Air Invitational After Dark, at which the artists participate in a nocturne paint-out in and around the beautiful downtown area beginning at 5:30 p.m. An artists’ Q&A panel discussion takes place on Monday evening. Two evenings later, Jean Stern, the emeritus director of The Irvine Museum, discusses the past and future of Laguna plein-air art and the importance of collecting original art today.
- Dan Mondloch, Pickup Game, oil, 16 x 20.
- Debra Huse, Above and Beyond, oil, 10 x 8.
- Shuang Li, Lifeguard on Duty, Aliso Beach, watercolor, 15 x 11.
The invitational culminates with a splash at the Saturday-evening Collectors Gala, where works ranging in size—including those created throughout the week—are available to collectors in a ticketed, fixed-price sale. (Works shown here are from last year’s event.) On Sunday, the show and sale opens to the public, and more artists’ demonstrations take place throughout the final day.
“The quality of the art is extraordinary,” Swimm says, “and the weeklong invitational is definitely one of the year’s can’t-miss events for art lovers.” For plein-air aficionados who can’t attend the extravaganza in person, virtual access is available for many of the events, including the gala. —Beth Williams
Photos by Ludo Leideritz
contact information
949.376.3635
www.lpapa.org
This story appeared in the October/November 2022 issue of Southwest Art magazine.