Artists, bystanders and the great outdoors will converge during the 10th Annual Plein Air Festival, produced by the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (SLOMA). The festival will feature a host of events and highlight the different style of each participating painter, beginning Oct. 3 and lasting through Oct. 9.
Joli Beal, an artist and former festival judge, said she appreciates the spectrum of the work represented in the Plein Air Festival.
“I think that, unlike many of the festivals of this type, (SLOMA director) Karen Kile … makes a real terrific effort to include various styles — people whose work is kind of out there and fun and colorful and playful, and then, people whose work is more of what’s called ‘the plein air style,’ which is more refined and old-fashioned looking almost,” she said. “I’ve been to plein air festivals where it’s all about the same kind of stuff. And it really gets old after a while of just everything the same.”
More than anything, the festival is unique because of its location, Beal said.
“I’m thinking in the entire world, there may not be such a diverse county (as San Luis Obispo County),” she said.
Artists will kick off the unique week by packing-up their easels and peppering the San Luis Obispo County streets during what SLOMA assistant director Muara Johnston said is the museum’s most popular event of the year.
The artists spend four days in the open air, painting landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes and just about any other scape imaginable before the eyes of passersby.
“Anybody can come by the museum at any time of the week and say, ‘Where can I see painters?’” Johnston said. “They call us in the morning and tell us where they’re going to be, and then you can go hunt them down. Take a picnic, a glass of wine and go out and watch them paint.”
Philippe Gandiol has participated in the festival three times and will be a featured artist this year.
He said he enjoys having spectators while he works.
“I think the viewer is a participant in the creative process,” he said. “Without the viewer, there is no work. I would encourage people very much to at least come and look. I think they will get a lot out of it.”
The true personalities of the artists will be revealed on Saturday, when they are given only two-and-a-half hours to craft a “work of art” from start to finish. The sprint begins at Mission Plaza at 9 a.m. When the paintings are complete, the artists frame their work and auction off the paintings before the paint has even dried.
“I’ve got to tell you, it’s like an Easter egg hunt,” Johnston said. “It’s one of the most fun things ever. They are in every nook and cranny, and each one has a different style. And some are more laid back, and they’re like, ‘No problem. Two hours is all the time in the world.’ Others are freaking panicking. They are like stressed to the max trying to get it done, so it’s really really fun…and that’s free. Anybody can come to that.”
The festival will begin at 11 a.m. on Oct. 3, and many of the festival events will be free to college students. For a full list of events, times and prices visit the SLOMA website.