As part of the Most Beautiful Art Tour in Alberta, the Leighton Art Centre is hosting an event en plein air.
The historic art gallery, nestled in the hills west of Okotoks, is hosting an event dubbed Paint the Foothills, inviting artists to paint en plein air (outdoors) on Sept. 11 and 12. The event is part of the centre's festivities connected to the Most Beautiful Art Tour in Alberta.
With a stunning vista looking southwest over the Foothills into the Canadian Rockies, painters will have plenty to work with.
“We’re encouraging people to come out and bring out their art supplies and have a picnic on our 80-acre property overlooking the Canadian Rockies,” said LIndsay Corbet, Leighton events and exhibitions manager.
The event will include the Plein Air Paint-Out, the Plein Air Art Sale, a competition, and the launch of the juried plein air exhibition In the Open Air.
The paint-out will be open to the public without registration, but serious artists can also register in advance to try their skill in the competition.
“Anyone is really welcome to participate, but (the competition) is mostly for the hardcore plein air-ists,” Corbet added.
For the competition, artists take their canvas out on the Saturday and must have their piece complete and submitted by 4 p.m. that day.
The juried exhibition’s official launch takes place at 3 p.m. Sunday will be on display from September to October.
Workshops will also be held for a range of skill levels.
The tour, Corbet added, has been a great collaboration of the Foothills arts community.
“I’m very excited because we’ve been working together with a lot of the other local artists, kind of helping each other out to bring people out of the big city down to the Foothills,” Corbet said.
The Centre is also an official Alberta Culture Days 2021 Celebration Site.
While the centre is open for regular operation Tues-Sun from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the plein air event is open to the public Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information about the Most Beautiful Art Tour, visit https://themostbeautifularttourinalberta.com
For more information about the Leighton Art Centre’s plein air event, competition, and workshops, visit https://leightoncentre.org
