Outdoors invites artists to the Air Painting Festival | News, Sports, Jobs

MARQUETTE — The seventh annual Fresh Coast Plein Air painting festival will take place this year in Marquette and its coastline on Friday and Saturday, June 28-29.

This year, an Afterglow event has been added on Sunday, June 30.

The festival, presented by the Lake Superior Art Association, is part of the grand finale of Marquette City Art Week, a week-long celebration of Marquette's creative community held during the final full week June and features a wide range of community arts projects, installations, performances and more. To learn more about Art Week, visit https://www.mqtcompass.com/artweek/.

This year, the judging, reception, awards presentation, and art exhibit and sale will take place at Marquette’s Presque Isle Pavilion, located in scenic Presque Isle Park. The new Afterglow event will be held at Provisions MQT, 401 S. Lakeshore Blvd., one of Marquette’s popular cafes offering baked treats, beverages, croissants, ice cream and more along the Iron Ore Heritage Trail, near Lower Harbor Park and downtown. Marquette is a great place to paint and make new friends.

Afterglow is a social event open to all artists (competitive and non-competitive) and the public.

Artists can set up and paint anywhere outside or near Provisions and enjoy an extra day of non-competitive painting and sharing.

The 2024 Plein Air Festival will combine evening and day segments to allow artists to paint both times for a single registration fee.

Dusk to Dark will take place on the evening of June 28. Artists who choose to participate must register and have their paintings stamped that evening at the Presque Isle Pavilion.

Once completed, items must be returned that evening by 10 p.m. The focus should be on capturing evening light, sunset, nighttime cityscapes, etc. The paintings will be stored securely inside the locked pavilion.

Saturday will be painting day. Artists participating in the daytime competition will be able to have their paintings stamped on Friday evening or Saturday morning, then will have until 4:30 p.m. to submit their works to the jury and exhibit them at the Presque Isle Pavilion.

Painters must be at least 17 years old to enter the competition. Artists can paint anywhere in Marquette and along the Lake Superior shoreline.

All paintings must be stamped upon entry and completed outdoors and on location. The key is to capture real scenes and landscapes inspired by the landscape and people of Marquette.

Interested artists can register in advance with this form to save on registration fees or register on the day(s) of the event. There are two levels of registration, (1) Professional and Advanced Painters, and (2) Novice, Intermediate and/or Recreational Painters. It is up to the artist to place themselves in the appropriate category and pay the appropriate fees. The registration fees are as follows, to be paid at the time of registration for the event when you bring your canvases to be stamped. The registration fee can be paid by cash or check.

Friday – “From dusk to darkness” / Saturday — The first day’s rate includes both hours.

Level 1: $25 pre-registration / $30 same day

Level 2: $15 pre-registered / $20 same day. Prizes of $2,500 will be awarded at the end of the festival, including first, second and third place for both levels of competition, people's choice and several door prizes.

Artists are encouraged to price their works if they wish to sell them, as there will be a large number of attendees at the public exhibition and reception.

The works will be judged this year by award-winning Kewadin artist Wendy McWhorter. You can view Wendy’s work at www.wendymcwhorterartist.

Wendy will also be exhibiting some of her work at the reception.

For more information, contact Marlene at [email protected], 847-791-8403 or the City of Marquette Office of Arts and Culture — [email protected], 906-228-0472.

Registration for the Fresh Coast Competition 2023

Registration can be sent by email to [email protected] or by mail to Marlene Wood, PO Box 4, Deerton, MI 49822.

Information required:

Name

Address

City

: State

: Postal code

E-mail address

Phone number

Website (if applicable)

Level of competition you are entering.

Level 1 — Professional and/or Advanced OR

Level 2 — Novice, Intermediate and/or Recreational

Itinerary *All registration and canvas stamping will take place at the Marquette-Press Isle Pavilion, located at Presque Isle Park, Marquette.

Friday –

“From dusk to darkness”

5 p.m.-7 p.m. *Registration, check-in, stamp on canvas at the Presque Isle Pavilion

5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Painting time (paintings must be returned by 10:00 p.m.)

Saturday – Painting all day

7:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. *Registration, check-in, canvas stamp at Presque Isle Pavilion

7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Paint Time (throughout Marquette and the Lake Superior shoreline)

3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Drop off of artworks at Provisions MQT

4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m. Judging within the provisions (*Judges and volunteers only)

6 p.m.-7 p.m. Public vote and public reception

The public can enter the tent to vote and enjoy light refreshments

7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Awards ceremony, artists' raffle, public reception with refreshments, art sales