The Northport Arts Association (NAA) is honored to continue our annual Plein Air event originated by Gene Rantz in 2013 on Saturday, July 20.
Gene’s original “Paint Out & Wet Paint Sale” started out small and has grown each year to where we are now, with 50 artists coming to paint this year. With the permission of Gene’s family, the event is named “Gene Rantz Memorial Plein Air Paint Out.”
An opening reception will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Village Arts Building in Northport.
The Art Association holds deep gratitude for the generosity of Bill and Nina Collins. They built and donated the Village Arts Building to the NAA. Without them, the plein air event may not have grown as significantly due to size of available venues in Northport. Although the NAA gallery is a good size with extensive wall space and panels, the artists quickly fill it up with their exceptional artwork, after two days of painting.
The NAA welcomes many returning artists along with new artists to share their work with the art lovers throughout northern Michigan. There are 50 artists coming to paint throughout the tip of Leelanau Peninsula and the Village of Northport. These amazing, diverse artists capture the beauty of the village, beaches, marina, orchards, vineyards, landscapes and landmarks. Their interpretation of our special peninsula rewards viewers with artistry that reflects the magic of our area.
The artists paint July 19 and 20. Each artist has the option to submit three paintings each day, as well as an additional “golden hour” painting if they signed up to paint into the Friday evening.
With 50 artists potentially creating up to seven paintings each, that could be 350 pieces of art. But to manage expectation, not every artists can paint that many in a day. Last year, the organization had about 200 artworks and when the doors opened at 6 p.m., people were lined up around the corner to get in and have first dibs on original art of Northport and nearby areas..
Last year, the artwork quality was fantastic, the gallery was filled with viewers enjoying displays, socializing and meeting the artists and making new friends. The opening reception on July 20 from 6 to 9 p.m. will feature fresh, wet off the easel paintings of various media and styles.
Tickets are available online through MyNorthTickets.com. Online tickets are $15 (plus processing fees). Tickets are $20 at the door the evening of the event. Artists painting throughout the area will have a limited number of $5 off coupons to give to attendees for discounted entry fee. Feel free to ask artists for a ticket.
After the Wet Paint Sale on July 20, our gallery exhibit runs from July 21 – August 3, noon to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. We encourage people to come to the reception for the best chance to see all of the one of a kind art created by the artists.
We are thankful for the support of local food sponsors as well as Blick Art Materials for sponsoring six honorable mention awards.
For more information please go to: northportartsassociation.org or email [email protected]
