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ABOUT THE INVITATIONAL
Laguna Art Museum and the Laguna Beach Plein Air Painters Association (LPAPA) present the 13th Annual Laguna Beach Plein Air Painting Invitational October 9-16, 2011 with a revamped format focusing on the community, the environment, and education.
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Each year Laguna Beach, a famous seaside community and historic artist colony, turns into an outdoor studio with the Laguna Beach Plein Air Painting Invitational. This event showcases fifty of the nation’s top plein air landscape painters who compete for prestigious prizes and participate in the week-long festivities including public paint outs, environmental awareness activities, and educational events. Culminating with the Collectors’ Soirée and Public Art Show & Sale at Laguna Art Museum, this event celebrates the artistic legacy of Laguna Beach.
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“We are committed to making the Laguna Beach Plein Air Painting Invitational the most prestigious and vibrant event of its kind in the nation,” said Laguna Art Museum’s Board President Robert Hayden III. “The invitational is already beloved by the community because of exciting events like the morning Quick Draw in Heisler Park, where you can stroll amongst artists as they create small masterworks. This year we’ve added even more events to make this a more highly engaging community affair. Over the next few years we anticipate this event growing exponentially and attracting locals and visitors to Laguna Beach to participate in this week-long celebration of the many painters working today that capture the spirit of the California landscape as did the early Laguna Beach plein air artists in whose spirit the Laguna Art Museum continues today.”
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This year, in recognition of Laguna Beach’s renowned landscape and marine environment, the 13th Annual Laguna Beach Plein Air Painting Invitational endeavors to support the important role plein air painters play in depicting and creating awareness about endangered landscapes in a time of climate change and other environmental threats. With the importance of these environmental issues in mind, this year’s Invitational has adopted “Sea, Sage, and Sustainability” as its theme.
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This week will feature numerous environmental awareness events and educational plein air activities in collaboration with other Laguna Beach organizations. These events include a Kids’ Paint Out led by local plein air artist Rick Delanty, an environmental awareness lecture at Laguna Art Museum, private tours of Laguna Canyon Foundation, a fine art lecture with Mr. Jean Stearn (Executive Director of The Irvine Museum), a Next Generation Paint Out with students from Laguna College of Art + Design, a paint out at Crystal Cove State Park sponsored by Crystal Cove Alliance Art Council, and outdoor artist demonstrations with select participating artists.
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“LPAPA and Laguna Art Museum are deepening and expanding our longstanding collaborative ties by reaffirming the historical role of plein air painters in establishing the museum almost a century ago, and creating the cultural heritage that is the essence of Laguna Beach,” said LPAPA President Greg Vail. “The 2011 Invitational focuses more than ever on engaging our local community, which in turn strengthens our nationwide reach and attraction. This year’s theme, “Sea, Sage and Sustainability”, emphasizes the crucial role plein air artists play in portraying and communicating the value of our cherished—and endangered—landscapes and seascapes. The protection of these resources is vital to the fundamental quality of our lives.”
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All events throughout the week are free and open to the public except for the Collectors’ Soirée on Saturday, October 15 which is a ticketed event. Tickets are $125 for museum members and $150 for non-members, and can be purchased online or by contacting Laguna Art Museum.
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ABOUT LAGUNA ART MUSEUM
Laguna Art Museum is a museum of American art with a special focus on the art of California. Its purpose is to provide the public with exposure to art and to promote understanding of the role of art and artists in American culture through collection, conservation, exhibition, research, scholarship and education. Working within the tradition of the oldest cultural institution in Orange County, Laguna Art Museum documents regional art and places it in a national context.The museum maintains its historic ties to the community and is responsive, accessible, and relevant to the area’s diverse population.
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The museum’s exhibitions, catalogues, and educational activities illustrate an ongoing examination of California art, which includes historical and contemporary art. Through collections, publications, and research on the art of California, Laguna Art Museum promotes understanding of the role of California art and artists in the development of the visual arts nationally and internationally.
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ABOUT THE LAGUNA BEACH PLEIN AIR PAINTERS ASSOCIATION
The Laguna Plein Air Painters Association (LPAPA) was formed in 1996 by five Laguna Beach artists: Ken Auster, Jacobus Baas, Cynthia Britain, Saim Caglayan, and John Cosby. Along with other organizations in California, like the Oak Group (Santa Barbara) and the California Art Club (Pasadena), LPAPA called for the return of traditional forms of painting, principally landscape painting. From the start, these organizations quickly generated interest in the areas where they were formed, and that interest spread rapidly to other parts of the country. Largely trained by luminaries within their ranks, these artists are inspired by the early twentieth-century landscape painters of California, including Anna Hills, Maurice Braun, Edgar Payne, Granville Redmond, and William Wendt.
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LPAPA was one of the key organizations on the West Coast to spark a renewed interest in painting landscapes out of doors, which has grown significantly and is supported by collectors from all parts of the country. LPAPA builds upon and promotes the renowned landscape painting heritage of Laguna Beach. LPAPA serves its members regionally, nationally, and internationally through events, programs and education.