Seaside Plein Air Artists Colony Invitational Oct 14–19

The Seaside Institute will hold its first Plein Air Artists Colony Invitational in Seaside from Oct. 14-19, 2013. The artists invited to participate will stay in the new Seaside Academic Village cottages. A dozen artists will demonstrate open air painting as they capture scenes on canvas at locations in Seaside, Rosemary Beach, and Alys Beach. The event culminates in a Grand Opening and art exhibit at the Seaside Institute's new Assembly Hall.
 

Plein air painting captures the atmosphere of the moment. The majority of the painting must be done on location and is a true test of one's skill as an artist. It requires utmost confidence in every brush stroke and placement of color in a small window of time. A sunset may last a few moments and that’s all the time the artist has to capture the entire scene. 

Participating in the Seaside Institute's first ever Plein Air Invitational are selected plein air artists who will travel to Seaside from various parts of the country. While nearly half hail from different cities in Florida, some are coming from as far away as Kansas City, Mo., Rockport, Mass., and Pittsburgh, Pa.
 

Each day, the artists will venture into the town to find inspiration for their paintings (most will average two paintings a day). Some of the artists favor watercolors; others specialize in oils. All are gifted plein air artists who have participated in plein air events all over the
country and many winning multiple awards in their field.

Kicking off the week, the artists will spend Monday and Tuesday painting in Seaside. On Tuesday, a demonstration will be held at the Seaside Neighborhood School for the 7th and 8th graders. That night a Meet the Artists ticketed dinner will be held at the Academic Village to raise funds for the Seaside Neighborhood School garden.

On Wednesday, the painters will travel to Rosemary Beach for a flash paint. The artists will paint all day in the community and then quickly frame and display their work for sale on their easels at the Hidden Lantern Gallery at 5 p.m. A demonstration will be held at the Hidden Lantern at 3 p.m. that day as well.

A demonstration is planned for Thursday in Alys Beach at Fonville Press at 2 p.m. and a final demonstration will be held in Ruskin Square in Seaside.
 

A grand opening will be held Saturday evening of Oct. 19 at the new Assembly Hall when all of the original works resulting from the week-long event will be on display and offered for purchase. Attendees will have an opportunity to mix with the artists, enjoy some light fare and wine and see first-hand the winners of the Choice Awards which will be selected that evening.

Topping off the evening is a raffle for a beautiful watercolor painting of Seaside's Pensacola Pavilion donated by artist David Csont who is assisting Seaside Institute in organizing this event. Proceeds from all sales during the week will benefit the artists, the Seaside Institute, the
Rosemary Beach Foundation and the Seaside Neighborhood School.
 

Please visit PleinAirSeaside.com for more information about this event and participating artists.

Refer to SoWal Events Calendar for details on Seaside Plein Air events held throughout the week, as well as other fantastic Fall events in South Walton and along the coast.
 

The Seaside Institute is dedicated to the following purposes:

• Documenting the founding and development of the community of Seaside, which is widely considered the birthplace of land use planning philosophy known as the New Urbanism.
• Educating public officials, students, professionals and the general public about the benefits and techniques of New Urbanism, including the study of historical precedents, and 
• Fostering education, cultural activities and the arts within Seaside and the surrounding area.

The Seaside Institute brings together the best thinkers and practitioners in the field of New Urbanism to discuss and debate at the highest level. Like-minded organizations are linked
together so that they can learn from one another. The necessary tools to improve the way communities are formed and developed are then shared with the Institute’s partners through collaboration.