Plein Air Easton 2025 Competition Prospectus
All applicants must:
• Provide contact information,
• Upload three (3) digital high-resolution jpg images (not to exceed 4MB in size) of plein air work painted within the past two years and,
• Pay $50 registration fee (non-refundable)
All applications must be submitted online by January 17, 2025, 11:59 pm PST. Any questions or concerns should be directed to Event Director, Marie Nuthall at 410-924-7279 or marie@avalonfoundation.org.
For questions or help with your online application, contact onlinejuriedshows@gmail.com or 888-666-1351
What is Plein Air Easton?
In its 21st year, Plein Air Easton is the largest and most prestigious outdoor painting competition in the United States. The festival is the work of the Avalon Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to foster a strong community on the Eastern Shore by creating accessible, uplifting arts, education, and cultural experiences that appeal to the interests of a diverse population and to ensure the long-term viability of the historic Avalon Theatre. The event is supported by Friends of Plein Air Easton, the Talbot County Arts Council, corporate donors, and strong community support.
Artists from hundreds of worldwide applicants are juried into the festival. The final 58 selected are undoubtedly some of our time's best plein air painters. Participation is entirely in-person and travel expenses to and from Easton, MD are the artist's responsibility.
Why should I apply?
Plein Air Easton enjoys the highest art sales of any Plein Air event in the United States. It is a juried competition with a new juror and judge each year. Any artist who paints en plein air may apply. With only the top award winners receiving automatic entry into the competition, the festival tends to see 1/3 to 1/2 of its population as new artists each year. Plein Air Easton represents a meaningful opportunity for emerging artists to gain national recognition and has been deemed “one of the most rewarding outdoor Arts Festivals in the USA,” by PleinAir magazine. With a reputation for strong organization, growing sales, a beautiful landscape, and just plain fun; PAE has become a “must-paint” for many of the world’s top painters.
Advice from a Juror…A few notes about your submission
• Prepare your jpegs properly. They should be of the images only with no frames, and no backgrounds and the image should be straight and not blurry. Make sure you shoot them in the proper light. Maybe even view them on several devices before submitting them.
• Submit work done in plein air and that reflects a recent representation of your work (within the last 2 years). Jurors can tell a plein air piece from a studio painting.
• Submit work that reflects the medium you will be using during the competition.
• Consider the subject matter of your 3 submitted paintings – three similar landscapes may tell the juror that you prefer a particular motif that doesn’t exist in our Maryland landscape.
How is Plein Air Easton Juried/Judged?
• Pre-competition: Plein Air Easton names a new juror each year. This year’s juror becomes next year’s judge. The juror views three digital images from each artist online, therefore, it is important to give us files that will present well on a computer monitor (at least 1920 pixels on the longest side @ 72 dpi). The juror sees no identifying information about the artists. After selection, the juror submits their anonymous selections to the Plein Air Easton’s executive team who announce the list of competing artists.
• During the Competition: All competition paintings are eligible to win prizes that are awarded by the competition judge at the Collectors’ Preview Party. The 2025 judge will also select the winners of the Quick Draw Competition and Small Painting Sunday Submissions.
I live locally what is different for me?
In our effort to elevate and highlight the local arts community, our policy is that if your primary residence is located in any of the counties on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, indicate so on your application (Talbot, Kent, Queen Anne, Caroline, Dorchester, Wicomico, Somerset, and Worchester). After the juror selects the 2025 slate (based on the images submitted by all applicants, including those that live locally), he/she will be presented with the images submitted by artists presiding in the counties mentioned above, of which he/she will choose three additional artists to participate in the competition. This gives local artists who reside in the above-mentioned counties, two chances to be juried into PAE. PAE does not reveal which artists are juried into the festival through this local-only process.
What should I expect if I get in?*
*Time Commitment: July 10-17
• Arrival – Although official canvas stamping happens on July 10, artists are encouraged to arrive prior before then (especially if PAE is new to you) to familiarize themselves with the area etc.
• Host housing – we make every effort to match artists with appropriate hosts. Travel expenses and accommodations outside of host housing are at the artist's expense.
• Food – Meals are provided (for artists only) at events hosted or co-hosted by Plein Air Easton.
• Attend the Artists Orientation and have your canvases stamped on Thursday, July 10
• Required: Produce (from a blank canvas with official PAE time and date stamp) TWO competition paintings and ONE 6x8 painting during your time here. Any works produced outside of those 3 paintings will have the opportunity to be exhibited and sold in the week-long exhibit that will take place in the PAE Headquarters (open to the public July13). Competition paintings must be turned in by 11am July 17th.
• The competition artworks produced during this week will be exhibited in an accredited museum, The Academy Art Museum (106 South Street, Easton, MD).
• Non-competition artworks produced during the week will be exhibited in the PAE Headquarters (40 S Harrison Street, Easton, MD), this generous space provides additional opportunities for the public to view/purchase all work produced during the festival and to engage in lectures, demos, and other events scheduled on stage during the week (July 13-21).
• Encouraged: PAE sponsors events and paint-outs during the week of July 12-16. Participation is highly encouraged and not required.
• The heat and humidity is a formidable aspect of this festival. Daily high temperatures can average around 84°F, rarely falling below 79°F or exceeding 95°F for July in Easton. The high humidity and UV index readings can exacerbate the heat.
• Sales will be brisk and ongoing throughout the week. In 2024, sales exceeded $525K and connections made during the event are proving to yield sales weeks after PAE is over.
Easton and all of Talbot County offer a picturesque blend of work and play along miles of waterfront. This vibrant community is eager to welcome you and is thrilled to highlight PAE as the pinnacle of their summer festivities. We take immense pride in the care we offer our artists, fostering meaningful connections with both familiar faces and new acquaintances, as well as with collectors and business partners. Our goal is to ensure your success during your time here, but most importantly, we want you to have an unforgettable experience!