Beau Toepfer/The Aspen Times
The third annual Plein Air Art Festival is slated to take place in Snowmass Base Village at The Rink in front of The Collective from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 11.
The event is being hosted by the Snowmass Arts Advisory Board (SAAB), a local organization that focuses on building the art experience in Snowmass. Twenty artists from all over Colorado have been invited out to Snowmass Village to paint for five days. The artists will then sell their work during the Plein Air Art Festival for a more affordable price than many of the local galleries.
“Snowmass is such a beautiful place, which is only made that much more beautiful by the art that we have,” Arts Advisory Board Chair Diane Oshin said.
All of the artists will be working within 40 miles of Snowmass and were provided with a location finder for some of the best viewpoints in the area. While some artists have housing or are sleeping in RVs or cars, the Advisory Board did provide housing for any of the artists who wanted to participate but couldn’t find anywhere to stay.
In the two years prior, the board made around $33,000 from selling art. According to Oshin, however, while most galleries or nonprofits give artists 50% of the money made from their art, the board is giving back 70%.
“While there’s no question we’re doing it for the community, we’re also doing it for the artists,” she said.
For many of the artists, like painter Lorenzo Chavez, visiting locations for plein air events is a major part of plein air painting. The location and local community are important aspects of going to these festivals.
“A lot of the plein air events that take place have a lot of enthusiasm from the local community,” Chavez said. “We (the artists) are able to enjoy the beauty of this place with the people who get to enjoy it on a regular basis.”
For plein air artists, the painting connects them to the moment. For some pieces, namely those done in the middle of the day, the artist has about an hour and a half to work with before the environment changes. For paintings at dawn or dusk, the artist only has about 30 minutes to an hour.
“I’m reacting to what I’m seeing,” Chavez said. “So it’s not an instant in time; it’s several instances that come together within a relatively short amount of time.”
Taking the time to paint deepens the artist’s connection to the landscape and to their understanding of the environment.
“The big part is this experience — seeing the change of light and seeing what’s happening while you’re painting — is a big part of what makes it enjoyable for me,” he said. “You can share that experience with others, and it allows you to see the landscape in a deeper way. Spending an hour looking at something is a different experience than spending just a minute or two looking at it.”
For more information on event times and location, visit gosnowmass.com/event/plein-air-art-festival/2024-08-10/.
