Although it was chilly, several brave artists headed out to Artists Point in Grand Marais with easel and paints to take part in the Grand Marais Art Colony Quick Paint competition on Thursday, September 11.
Sixty artists competed in the seven-day Plein Air Grand Marais competition on September 5-12, which is in its 12th year. Plein Air, French for “open air,” has been a painting style for centuries and simply means that artists paint from life in the outdoors. Artists in the Grand Marais Art Colony competition could paint outside anywhere in Cook County. At the beginning of the week, all 60 artists began with blank canvases. Seven days later at the close of the competition, there were over 200 pieces exhibited at Johnson Heritage Post. The Quick Paint competition is a popular category within Plein Air Grand Marais for competition artists and the public. Artists can set up anywhere on Artists’ Point and, after a shot gun blast, they have 90 minutes to complete one painting from start to finish. Dozens of spectators walked around viewing the artists’ progress and partaking in the event, which is open to the public.
The culmination of the competition is the opening reception at Johnson Heritage Post where the Juror, Bonnie Paruch of Sisters’ Bay, Wisconsin, gave out several awards including 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place in the Main Category, Best of the Quick Paint Category, and Best of the Night Paint Category.
In the Quick Paint competitions, artists spread out to get different views of the beautiful Grand Marais harbor. This painter picked a spot that gave him an interesting angle of the Coast Guard Station.
Art Colony Director Amy Demmer said, “Plein Air Grand Marais is a perfect event for Cook County. It highlights the great beauty of the area, the unlimited recreational opportunities including outdoor painting, and the legacy of the arts in this community. It is incredible to watch these blank canvases become finished snapshots of recognizable locations.”
For more information about the event contact the Art Colony at 218- 387-2737 or info@grandmaraisartcolony. org. The exhibit is on display at the Johnson Heritage Post (115 Wisconsin St.) daily through September 28 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
The opening reception of the Plein Air exhibit at the Johnson Heritage Post was a wonderful event celebrating the winners of the Grand Marais Art Colony Plein Air competition. (L-R, front) David Gilsvik (3rd Place: Main Category, People’s Choice Award, and Red Suspender Award), Matt Kania (Red Suspender finalist). (L-R, back) Andy Evansen (1st Place: Night Paint and Honorable Mention: Main category), Bob Upton (1st Place: Main Category and Honorable Mention: Night Paint), Lisa Stauffer (Honorable Mention: Main Category), Paula Gustafson (2nd Place: Main Category), Christopher Copeland (1st Place Quick Paint), and Bonnie Paruch (Juror) (Not pictured Tom Dimock (Honorable Mention: Quick Paint).
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