March 28, 2017
PRESS RELEASE: Wayne Art Center is proud to present
2017 Wayne Art Center plein air festival, 11th ANNual exhibition, may 15 – JUNE 24 2017. For immediate release WAYNE, PA – March 28, 2017 – One of the most sought-after national juried exhibitions of plein air paintings will be on display at the Wayne Art Center from May 15th – June 24th, 2017. The juried artist painting festival where they create the 250+ landscapes is from May 8th – 13th, 2017. In conjunction with Plein Air, the annual Reflections thru the Lens, an exhibition of landscape photography, will also be on display.
The festival will begin with a private Artist and Sponsor Welcome Dinner at a local patron’s farm on Sunday, May 7, 2017. Artists arrive with blank canvases, which will be stamped that late afternoon to ensure that all work is completely executed during the festival. Then they will be ready to begin the challenge of executing a brand new body of work in just 5 1/2 days, which will then hang in the Wayne Art Center’s state-of-the-art Davenport and Vidinghoff Galleries. From Monday, May 8th through Saturday, May 13th these distinguished juried and invitational artists from around the country will create over 250 works of art that will be for sale at the Collectors’ Soirée and Sale on Saturday, May 13th and for the duration of the show. Several related events are scheduled:
Exhibition Dates: May 15 through June 24, 2017 (Free and open to the public)
Collectors’ Soirée, Saturday, May 13th, 6:00-10:00pm (Ticketed event, www.waynepleinair.org)
Festival Schedule of Events:
May 7, 5-7pm……………………….…….Artist and Sponsor Welcome Dinner
May 8-13..…..………………………….Artists Paint Within 25 miles of Wayne
May 13, 8am – 1pm……………………Artists Community Paint Out in Wayne
May 13, 6-10pm…………………………..Collectors’ Soirée and Sale
May 14, 1-3pm……………………….….Lecture/Demo by Juror, Don Demers
May 15-17, 10am-4pm………..……….Don Demers 3-day Plein Air Workshop
May 18, 5-7pm………………….Reflections Thru the Lens Exhibition Opening
June 1, 6:30-8:30pm…………………….French Cuisine & Wine Tasting Event
June 11, 4-5pm…………………………..Orchestra Concordia Plein Air Concert
June 17, 6-9pm.….West Laurel Hill Murder Mystery Dinner Theater Fundraiser
The Wayne Plein Air Festival is an exciting opportunity to bring valued talent to our community. Over half of the artists come from other regions stretching up and down the East Coast and Midwest and West. This year with the growing awareness of the Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival, there has been an increase in the number of applicants and the festival is attracting artists from as far away as California. Out of town artists will be housed by committee members and other gracious patron families in the community for the duration of the festival.
We are honored to have Don Demers jury the artists and awards for our 11th plein air anniversary. Demers was educated at the School of the Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA, and the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, MA. His professional career began as an illustrator and expanded into the field of fine art. His illustrations have graced many book covers and national publications such as Reader’s Digest, Sail Magazine, Field & Stream, Sports Afield, Yankee, and National Geographic. His paintings have been featured in publications including American Artist Magazine, Artist Magazine, Plein Air Magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur, Art and Antiques, Yachting Magazine and several other noteworthy publications.
A Fellow of the American Society of Marine Artists, Demers is an elected member of the Guild of Boston Artists, an elected member of the California Art Club, and a signature member of PAPA (Plein Air Painters of American). Demers has won a record number of awards for his commercial and fine art paintings on both the east and west coasts.
Demers has selected artists from across the country to compete in the Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival. The artists will paint the luscious landscapes and beautiful architecture of the Delaware Valley. Demers will join us in Wayne to select awards for paintings and offer a painting lecture. Demers will also teach a 3-day, plein air painting workshop following the opening of the 2017 exhibition. Registration for the workshop can be made at www.waynepleinair.org or by calling 610-688-3553.
Festival artists are directed to paint within 25 miles of Wayne during the first four days of the competition. A combination of pastoral scenes from nearby rural areas and parks as well as quaint scenes from historic Main Line neighborhoods will make for a pleasing variety of works that reflect the character of our area. On Friday, May 12th, the painters and will venture to Valley Forge Park and into Philadelphia to capture notable downtown scenes in Center City. On Saturday, May 13th, Wayne becomes the central spot for artists and community participates to paint on the final day of the festival. Artists can be seen capturing everyday life from early morning until 1:00 pm.
To honor past award winners, Wayne Art Center has invited ten previously awarded artists to paint alongside the juried artists during the festival. The nationally acclaimed invitational artists include D. Eleinne Basa, NJ, Michele Bryne, PA, Valerie Craig, PA, Chris Dixon, CT, Neal Hughes, NY, Charlie Hunter, VT, Tim Kelly, MD, Kathie Odom, TN, Elise Phillips, PA, and Stewart White, MD. Their work will be featured alongside the juried artists in the Davenport and Vidinghoff Galleries.
In years past, participating artists have produced over 250 to 300 fresh paintings over the course of the festival week. The exhibit commences with the 11th Annual Collectors Soirée and Sale on Saturday, May 13th in the Davenport and Vidinghoff Galleries. Doors open precisely at 6:00 pm for those with early patron viewing tickets and 7:00 pm for regular admission tickets. The event offers a chance to meet the artists in a festive and elegant setting with open bar and heavy hors d’oeuvres. Martinis will flow from a hand-sculpted ice luge, Little Black Dress wines will be served, and live jazz by Phyllis Chapell and Siora will create a festive environment for over 250 collectors and patrons. Guests will have first crack at the fresh paintings for sale. Juror Don Demers will announce awards of $15,000 in prize money during the Soirée.
The Wayne Art Center’s financial efforts are underwritten by several local major sponsors and private patrons and attendees who help raise funds for the 2017 Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival that benefit Wayne Art Center’s educational, outreach and exhibition programs. Our presenting sponsor is West Laurel Hill Cemetery and Funeral Home as well as First Priority Bank, Beneficial Bank and our other business sponsors and patrons
The 2017 Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival will remain on display and open to the public from May 15 until June 24, 2017. Regular gallery hours are Monday through Friday 9:00 am until 5:00 pm and Saturdays 9:00 am until 4:00 pm. For more information about events surrounding the festival contact the Wayne Art Center at 610-688-3553 or go to www.wayneart.org or www.waynepleinair.org.
During the 2017 Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival, the annual Reflections Thru The Lens, an exhibition of photography will be on exhibition in the Ethel Sergeant Clark Smith Gallery. Photographers will submit photographs of landscapes. Awards will be presented at the opening on Thursday, May 18th, 5-7pm. The reception is free and open to the public. The exhibition will run from May 15th through June 24th, 2017.
The 2017 Plein Air Artists are:
Paul Bachem (Locust Valley, NY)
Bruno Baran (Nottingham, MD)
Eleinne Basa (Jackson, NJ)
Joshua Been (Salida, CO)
Robert Bohne (Brookhaven, PA)
Michele Byrne (Wyomissing Hills, PA)
John Caggiano (Rockport, MA)
Arcenio M. Campos (Philadelphia, PA)
Valerie Craig (Villanova, PA)
Chris Dixon (Lakeville, CT)
Roberta Goschke (Waldoboro, ME)
Ray Hassard (Cincinnati, OH)
Jennifer Holmes (Chester, CT)
Neal Hughes (Moorestown, NJ)
Charlie Hunter (Bellows Falls, VT)
Tim Kelly (Baltimore, MD)
Allen A. Kriegshauser (Kirkwood, MO)
Patrick Lee (Pittsburgh, PA)
Christopher Leeper (Canfield, OH)
Chuck Marshall (Wilmington, OH)
Jane McGraw-Teubner (East Northport, NY)
Patrick Meehan (Annapolis, MD)
Alison Leigh Menke (Silver Spring, MD)
Kathie Odom (Knoxville, TN)
Elise Phillips (Elverson, PA)
Richard Sneary (Kansas City, MO)
Jonathan Stasko (Sharon Spings, NY)
Gregory Summers (Overland Park, KS)
Anthony Watkins (Bradley, ME)
Stewart White (Baltimore, MD)
Tara Will (Hampstead, MD)
Peter Yesis (Searsport, ME)
For more information, please contact:
Nancy Campbell, Executive Director
610-688-3553, ext. 204, nancy@wayneart.org
Karen Louise Fay, Director of Exhibitions and Events
610-688-3553, ext. 211, karenlouise@wayneart.org