Clarksvillians can pick up original works of art of local scenes by regional artists at amazing prices during the closing reception for the 2Rivers Paint Out on Saturday, October 18, at the L & N Depot.
Artists from around Middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky will arrive in Clarksville to paint at Historic Collinsville and Liberty and McGregor Parks for the 2Rivers Plein Air Paint-Out on Friday and Saturday, October 17 and 18.
The public is invited to a reception and exhibition of work produced through the weekend at the L and N Depot, 10th and Commerce Streets, on Saturday, October 18, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. They may also purchase fresh, unique work featuring local scenes from creative perspectives.
You can also come out to watch painters create a work of art en plein air. On Friday, participating artists can capture the serenity and nostalgia of Historic Collinsville, an open-air museum which includes a 40-acre Pioneer Settlement and the Weakley House Museum. On Saturday, they move to the banks of the majestic Cumberland River. Artists can set up in McGregor Park and Cumberland Riverwalk, a four-mile greenway along the river, or Liberty Park, featuring public art, a marina, and Freedom Point.
The three artworks judged best by juror Frank Lott, executive director of Customs House Museum and a talented watercolorist, will receive cash prizes. The awards ceremony will take place at 7 p.m. with a first-place award of $1000, courtesy of Lyle Cook and Martin Architects and Haynes House Sanctuary; second place of $500, courtesy of Planters Bank; and third place of $250, courtesy of Lawrence Mize. Planters Bank also donated prize money for several honorable mentions. Parker and Pugh Attorneys at Law, John Crow Estate Planning and Probate, and Visit Clarksville have also committed to purchase prizes
A French expression which means “in the open air,” en plein air painting became popular among 19th-century impressionist painters intrigued by the changing patterns of sunlight on a landscape. Today’s plein air artists work in their surroundings, painting what the naked eye sees, without the focusing aid of photographs.