Back Bay Plein Air Art Festival celebrates the beauty of Upper Back Bay
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When early California scene painting began to gain popularity in the 19th and early 20th centuries, artists were inspired by the French practice of plein air, bringing their easels outdoors to capture the beauty of the Golden State on canvas. The 18th annual Back Bay Plein Air Art Festival in Newport Beach invites artists and art lovers alike to continue the tradition.
“It is a wonderful event for the whole community around Back Bay,” said Randi Moran, Back Bay Plein Air Art Festival chairperson. “It is all original art, either done plein air or plein air style.”
Opened Saturday in Newport Beach and running through July 20, the week-long art event is presented in joint partnership with the Southern California Plein Air Painters Assn., the Newport Bay Conservancy and OC Parks. The open air setting of Newport Back Bay serves as the backdrop for several events planned throughout the week, with most taking place at the Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center at Upper Back Bay.
The festival began Saturday morning with a “Quick Draw” painting competition on the trails surrounding the Back Bay. Participating artists were vying to win cash and prizes valued at $1,000.
“Artists come in with a blank canvas, it gets stamped and they go out and paint for a few hours, come back, frame it and hang it up,” Moran explained before the festival opened. “Those get judged for first, second and third place awards.”
The works created during Saturday’s competition will remain on view and for sale through July 18.
A juried show of 56 works, painted “en plein air” that depict local OC Parks, like Irvine Regional Park, Peter’s Canyon, Salt Creek Beach and the Back Bay will be on view and for sale from 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., through July 18 in the “Best of OC Parks and Newport Bay Plein Air Art Show & Sale.”
Several hundred additional original paintings from club members will be on display and for sale on July 19-20 for the “Weekend Art Show & Sale,” scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“There are lots of gorgeous landscapes, not only of the Back Bay but all of Southern California, the coast, the local mountains, wilderness areas, all of it,” said Moran. “There also other paintings from up in the Sierras and the desert, but it mostly sticks to local landscapes.”
Additionally, adult and children’s art classes are scheduled through out the week in the Peter & Mary Muth Interpretive Center classrooms. Aspiring painters can register at eventbrite.com.
The Southern California Plein Air Painters Assn. was founded in 2001 by Margaret “Maggie” Jamison as a small gathering of artists from a painting class at Irvine Valley College taught by Jeff Horn. The association has since grown into a nonprofit that bring artists of all skill levels together by hosting weekly in-person paint-outs and other events.
The group also remains dedicated to supporting local conservation efforts to protect O.C.’s natural landscape. Members’ paintings can be found on view year round at OC Parks’ Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve in the Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center.
“Part of our proceeds from this event go to the Newport Bay Conservancy,” Moran said.
Moran herself took up painting in the mid-2000s, when her husband gifted her with art classes. As a novice plein air artist, she found the Southern California Plein Air Painters Assn. to be a welcoming and inspiring community.
“I found a teacher who was part of Southern California Plein Air Painters Assn.,” said Moran. “My first Back Bay show was in 2012 and all the artists that were there were incredibly encouraging and kind and offered ways that I could improve. They were utterly helpful in every way and that is what we try to continue to be.“
She hopes locals will come out during the week to experience the festival for themsleves and gain a new appreciation for the natural beauty that exists in Back Bay and in their own backyards.
“Personally, I hike every Monday with a group and every time I am out there, I marvel at the incredible wilderness we still have in Orange County,” said Moran. “We try to capture a lot of that feeling on canvas.”
The 18th Annual Back Bay Plein Air Art Festival opened Saturday and will run through July 20 at the Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center at 2301 University Drive in Newport Beach. For details on the event schedule visit socalpapa.com
