The Cashiers Plein Air Festival, a biennial fundraiser for The Village Green, returns to the Plateau July 13-18, bringing 20 nationally and internationally recognized plein air artists to the area.
En Plein Air, French for “in the open air”, is a style of painting done outdoors rather than in a studio. Working on site allows the artist to depict the changing light, atmosphere and spirit of a place as it exists in the moment.
Beginning Monday, July 13, artists will spread across the Plateau to capture landscapes ranging from the Blue Star Ranch to the area’s waterfalls.
During the week, The Village Green will host artist demonstrations on the Commons stage at Lewis Hall, along with festival events inside Lewis Hall. The full schedule is below:
- Thursday, July 16: Public artist demonstrations by Michelle Held from 11 a.m. to noon, and Greg Barnes from 2 to 3 p.m.
- Friday, July 17: Public artist demonstration by Sarah Sneeden, 11 a.m to noon
- Saturday, July 18: Free public Artist’s Quick Paint on The Green from 11 a.m to 1 p.m., followed by the Artist Award Ceremony inside Lewis Hall from 5 to 8 p.m.
A free public gallery featuring artwork painted throughout the week will also be open from July 16 to July 18 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“What they’ll do during a demonstration is they might paint from a photograph for example, or some people do flowers, so they’ll paint a group of dahlias,” said Dale Gordon, executive director of The Village Green. “Each artist has their own subjects they like to paint.”
The Village Pantry will provide dinner for both the Benefactor Welcome Reception and the Artist Award Ceremony, featuring a french-inspired menu Wednesday and an international menu for Saturday.
For the first time, the public will be able to track the artists’ painting locations through The Village Green’s social media, along with a location board at The Village Green.
Several private country clubs will also host artist demonstrations, with the paintings later available for members to view and purchase during Cocktails and Canvases events.
“The Plateau is such an ideal place for the Plein Air Festival because of, obviously, the aesthetic,” said Gordon. “Not only do we have gorgeous weather and it’s nice to be outdoors in the summer here, but everybody also comes here for the natural beauty of the mountains."
Saturday’s Artist’s Quick Paint on The Green gives attendees the opportunity to watch artists create artwork of their choosing within a two hour period. Some artists may complete several paintings, while others may focus on one. Howard Hanna will provide a photo booth during the event.
“Painting in plein air can be time consuming,” said Gordon. “The quick paint is just really fun because they’re all small paintings, and the artists go out and capture whatever they can in a quick little minute. It just adds a little bit of variety to what they usually do.”
For more information on benefactor packages, visit the Cashiers Plein Air Festival website.
Mitch Stone is a reporter at The Highlander and can be reached at reporter@highlandsnews.com