6th Annual Prescott Plein Air Festival Takes Place August 27–31
The Yavapai College Prescott Art Gallery and the Yavapai College Foundation are pleased to present “Art in the Pines: The 6th Annual Prescott Plein Air Festival,” August 27 to 31, with a monthlong post-festival exhibition beginning September 1.
The festival will feature 16 Arizona artists and two California artists painting in outdoor settings throughout Yavapai County, including the area’s beautiful pine forests and highland lakes, as well as amidst the historical and architectural beauty of downtown Prescott.
At specific accessible demonstration sites, the public will have an opportunity to observe and engage with the artists at no cost. This year the artists will paint at Sharlot Hall Museum from 8 a.m. to noon on Friday, August 29, and at Watson Lake Park from 6 a.m. to noon on Saturday, August 30.
The public is also invited to a Gala Reception and Art Sale at the Jim & Linda Lee Performing Arts Center and The Yavapai College Prescott Art Gallery from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, August 31. Attendees of the reception will be able to visit with the artists and purchase their paintings directly. Works created during the festival and not sold at the gala reception will remain on display and for sale at the college’s Prescott Art Gallery September 1–26.
Featured artists include Cindy Carrillo, of Tempe, the winner of last year’s Best of Show Award and the recipient of $1,000 and a solo art exhibition at the Yavapai College Patty McMullen-Mikles Gallery in Clarkdale. Carrillo’s solo plein air exhibition opens on August 21 and runs through September 18, with an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, August 21.
Other artists participating in 2025 include Dana Cohn of Prescott, a Yavapai College Art Department adjunct instructor and noted muralist; Tom Conner of Phoenix; Alison Crary of Prescott; Robin Deshayes of Los Olivos, California; Priya Drews of Flagstaff; Kristine Dutton of Prescott; Liam Dye of Tucson; Lydia Gatzow of Sedona; Lindsay Green of Phoenix; Lance Gulseth of Phoenix; Julia Jaakola of Prescott; Igor Kogan of Gilbert; Cathy Krieger of Prescott; Deborah McAllister of Cottonwood; Barbara Mulleneaux of Tucson; Ben Norton of Rimrock, a member of the Yavapai College Art Faculty; and Jose Nunez of San Diego, California.
Judges Dawn Sutherland and Shirley Eichten Albrecht will give out this year’s $1,000 Best of Show award, as well as cash prizes for first, second, and third place, and several honorable mentions.
The exhibition will also feature an online charity auction of signature paintings by each artist accepted into the festival. Sale proceeds from the auction will support scholarships, student art prizes at Yavapai College, and festival awards.
For more information, visit https://ycvisualarts.com/artinthepines2023-1.