The 2024 En Plein Air Competition at LeFleur’s Bluff State Park will include even more artists, coming in from all parts of Mississippi for this year’s competition.
This event, brought to you by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks and Pacesetter Gallery, will showcase 44 talented Mississippi artists as they paint LeFleur’s Bluff State Park competing for publication in Mississippi Wildlife magazine and cash prizes. The artists will spread throughout the park and will choose a view of the park, which includes cypress trees, beautiful lake vistas, and wooded areas.
The public is encouraged to come out and enjoy the park, meet the painters, and watch as the paintings come to life through oil, watercolor, acrylic, and pastel mediums. Entry to the park is $2 a person and is located at 3315 Lakeland Terrace in Jackon in the Mayes Lake area. The competition live painting begins at 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., then the finished artwork will be available to view or purchase at Pacesetter Gallery from 6-8 p.m. The public is invited to attend the En Plein Air Wine and Cheese Opening to see who won. The landscapes will be judged by renowned Mississippi artist Bill Wilson.
Unique to this event, visitors can purchase artwork throughout the day, while the paint is still wet, or wait until the pieces are finished. However, the sale is first come first serve, You won’t want to miss your chance to purchase a piece from beloved artists like Ellen Langford, Rowan Bird, Carol Roark, and more.
“We love pairing up with Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks on this event. It really highlights both the beauty found in our state parks and the inspiring work of plein air painters. Most people do not realize how many great outdoor painters we have in Mississippi. With one of the most beautiful states in the U.S., it is so easy to find inspiration all across our state. We know this day will be special and hope you will join us at the park,” an official statement from Pacesetter Gallery reads.
states Keri Davis, owner and artist of Pacesetter Gallery.
Plein air painting was popularized by the French Impressionists whose works are still popular today. Manet, Van Gogh, and Monet were a few of the many artists who focused their attention on capturing the colors in the light during that specific day and the feeling of the day. During the last decade, outdoor painting has grown and flourished across the state, with competitions and magazines dedicated to plein air.
“To me, Plein air painting is a way for me to express what I see, feel, and hear, right on the canvas in hopes that the viewer will feel the freshness and be involved in the scenery,” says participating artist Karen Bennett. Bennett is an award-winning artist from Kokomo with multiple works featured on HGTV’s Hometown. Her work can be found at Pacesetter Gallery and she works primarily in plein air.
“My love for plein air painting comes largely from my experiences painting with Wyatt Waters, and from having the chance to paint on Horn Island, as Walter Anderson did. It also is rooted in my own experiences growing up. As a family, we camped, backpacked, and spent a lot of time observing and enjoying nature. Painting ‘en plein air’ is not just capturing an image, but it is catching the experience of being in the environment; the sun or shade, the heat or cold, the wind or calmness in the atmosphere, you are translating those experiences in color and line and texture,” states artist Wes Arrington.
Arrington has been studying and painting in watercolor for 30 years and resides in Brookhaven. He has painted in many plein-air competitions hosted by Pacesetter Gallery over the last few years and his piece from the Pacesetter Renaissance at Colony Competition now hangs in the foyer of the new Visit Ridgeland office.
So add this event to your calendar, spend time with family and friends, and experience Mississippi art as it comes to life at LeFleur’s Bluff State Park on April 13. You are sure to be inspired!
Participating artists include
Professional Division: Justin Selway (Canton), Joanne Bell Harrill (Canton), Allison Kelly (Jackson), Chelsea Young (Jackson), Ellen Langford (Jackson), Rowan Bird (Jackson), Wes Arrington (Brookhaven), Carol Roark (Enid), Kayla Walker (McComb), Susan Wellington (Flowood), Troy Hill (D’Iberville), Karen Bennett (Kokomo), Katy Nave Kemalyan (Starkville), Debbie Myers (Oxford), Linda Peters (Oxford), Pam Locke (Oxford), Daniel C. Ethridge (Meridian), Cary Haycox (Meridian), Robin Cumberland (Meridian), Judy B Nail (Greenwood), Gayle Quick (Richland), James Wagner (Columbus), Andre Ray (Columbus), Margaret Mayer (Madison), Katelyn Harbaugh (Madison), Sam Clark (Madison), Feixue Yang (Madison), Bryan Peters (Brandon), Andrew Mize (Brandon), Carissa Mitchell (Union Church), Sam Bishop (Clinton), Emma Knowles (Clinton-Mississippi College scholarship recipient)
Amateur Division: Janice Kraft (Canton), Bill Westling (Perkinston), Nathalie Pettit (Ocean Springs), Gloria Jones (Madison), Phil Pringle (Madison), Mary Keith (Madison), Lewis Griffin (Hattiesburg), Cynthia Baugh (Clinton), Kay Meadows (Brandon), Bonnie Atkinson (Brandon), Payge Smith (Brandon)
For more information, click here.
