Year after year, our plein air event celebrates the landscape of the Umpqua Valley, from its breathtaking emerald rivers to its abundant farmlands. These locations define our area, and they are favorite painting spots year after year. Each summer, UVA offers artists the opportunity to connect with both nature and fellow creatives at their plein air “paint-out” event. After nearly a week of painting in the great outdoors, artists display and sell their work in the UVA galleries; pieces are juried, judged, and eligible to receive purchase awards. Artists searching to stretch their creative muscles, outdoor aficionados, and dedicated art collectors alike will all find something to love about this tribute to the land of the Umpqua. Come join artists who share your passion for plein air art and spectacular, diverse landscapes!
UMPQUA PLEIN AIR 2024
Registration Deadline: Aug 2nd by midnight
Paint-Out Event: Aug 19th – 23rd, 2024
Opening Reception: August 24th
UVA’s Umpqua Plein Air event and exhibition is back August 19th – 23rd, 2024! This annual event is well-attended event will feature another week of painting outdoors and celebrating the beauty of Douglas County. The 14th Annual Umpqua Plein Air event will host artists from across the region over a 5-day paint-out event where they will go across the Umpqua Valley and paint the incredibly varied landscapes that surround us, then they will return to UVA and submit their works which will be juried by our guest juror, Anton Pavlenko.
Event Information
Check out the Schedule of Events, Entry Rules, FAQs, and more below!
About the Juror
Umpqua Valley Arts is honored to have Anton Pavlenko join us in jurying the 2024 Umpqua Plein Air event and exhibition! Anton is a self-taught oil painter born in the Ukraine. He and his family immigrated to the united states in 1990, where he developed his artistic talents to what they are today. His paintings depict his search for home, turning his work into a reflection of his personal journey while exploring themes of identity and self-discovery. Since starting his professional career in 2009, Anton’s work is internationally collected and has appeared in art magazines, publications, and won numerous awards from prestigious exhibitions, galleries, and museums across the country.
Schedule of Events:
Thursday, August 15:
Virtual Umpqua Plein Air Artist Orientation
Saturday, August 17:
Young Artists’ Paint-Outs
Monday, August 19:
Umpqua Plein Air Check-In + Brunch
Paint outs begin! See suggested locations and maps
Tuesday, August 19 – Thursday, August 23:
Time to get out there and paint!
Friday, August 23:
Final Paint out day!
Artwork Check-In! All artwork must be checked in by 6pm
Saturday, August 24:
Time TBA: Demo with guest juror
Time TBA: Purchase Award Reception
2022 Umpqua Plein Air AWARDS:
- 40 awards of distinction: In the Hallie Brown Ford Gallery
- 1st – $500, 2nd – $300, & 3rd – $200 place winners are announced at opening
- M. Graham Award – Honorable Mention Award
- People’s Choice Award
- Purchase Awards
- UVA Staff Choice
- Best Captured Moment
- Best Seaside
- Best Sky
- Best Streetscape
- Best Umpqua River
4-7pm: Opening Reception + Award Presentation
MORE ON UMPQUA PLEIN AIR
Even Highlights:
- Event kickoff with an online orientation, juror talk, and live Q&A session.
- A special Artist Social to give artists a chance to check in with other artists, look at the maps, and buddy up. UVA provides coffee and foods to grab and go for paint-outs and answer any last-minute questions before the event starts.
- Extended painting dates to allow for artist flexibility. (Painters do not have to paint every day to participate or enter their work in the competition.)
- The beauty of nature—Umpqua Plein Air highlights incredible locations throughout the valley, spanning from Oregon’s center all the way to the coast and featuring stunning views along the North Umpqua River, old-town charm in Oakland, pastoral farmlands, and the wilds of the Oregon Coast!
- Local wineries with sweeping vistas offer artists a chance to sample the local bounty as they create. UVA’s interactive map highlights several wineries that make perfect paint-out locations.
- Live juror demonstrations.
- Opportunities for youth to participate in paint-outs through our special Young Artists en Plein Air event. Youth who create their own plein air paintings get to submit their piece(s) for a special showcase of local talent during the Umpqua Plein Air exhibition!
- A juried art contest awarding 40 Awards of Distinction, including 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-place winners, the M. Graham and People’s Choice Awards, and multiple “Best of” awards.
- An exclusive reception for individuals and businesses committed to purchasing artwork through UVA’s Purchase Award Program.
Purchase Award Program:
The Umpqua Plein Air Purchase Award is a program that provides our community of supporters with the opportunity to partner with UVA in our mission to foster a local climate for arts appreciation, participation, and education by committing to purchase a painting created by plein air artists during this annual event.
Interested community supporters and partners can RSVP for a special reception where they will be the first to see the works and purchase at least one piece to add to their permanent collection for their home or business. For each piece that an individual or business purchases, a Purchase Award Certificate will be displayed alongside the work stating who purchased the piece for brand and name visibility and award announcements will be made on our website, social media, and during the Opening Reception.
YOUNG ARTISTS EN PLEIN AIR!
Saturday, August 19th
5:30pm – 7:30pm
Umpqua Plein Air embraces the landscape of the Umpqua Valley with a paint out event and exhibition that celebrates the breathtaking emerald rivers to abundant farmlands and shaded forest paths found in Douglas County. To offer young artists a chance to get in on the fun, UVA hosts Young Artists en Plein Air, a FREE community event for Douglas County Youth to paint and draw the landscapes of the Umpqua just like established and emerging artists in the main event.
Registration for YOUNG ARTISTS EN PLEIN AIR 2023 is OPEN!
2023 Umpqua Plein Air Event Sponsors:
UVA wants to give a special thanks to these community partners:
Gathering Grounds Coffee House • Old Soul Pizza • Growing Miracles Lavender Farm • Reustle-Prayer Rock Vineyards • Henry Estate Winery • Growing Miracles Lavender Garden • Crane Creek Ranch
WHY PAINT IN THE UMPQUA VALLEY?
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
UVA acknowledges, honors and respects the indigenous people of this region, the Umpqua People, on whose ancestral lands the UVA building now stands. These include the Nahank’ uotama (Cow Creek Takelma) and the Upper Umpqua Peoples who later became the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and were incorporated into the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.
The Cow Creek Tribal areas include the Cascade and Coast Ranges in Southwestern Oregon, along the South Umpqua River, and its primary feeder stream, Cow Creek. This tribal area includes the Umpqua watershed and surrounding areas. The Indigenous peoples of the Umpqua Valley never surrendered lands or resources to the United States and there are Indigenous communities nationwide that are actively fighting for the preservation of sacred lands.
UVA gratefully recognizes that the Umpqua Valley is made up of many diverse communities of indigenous peoples who continue to live, work and thrive in these lands today.
We invite you to join us in acknowledging all of the above as our shared responsibility and to consider our roles in healing the wounds of the past, so we continue to build a brighter tomorrow.
Payment and Refund Policy: Full payment at time of registration is required. Up until two weeks prior to the start of the event, you will receive a full refund (minus a $10 service charge) should you need to cancel your registration. However, cancellations made after this two-week time frame are nonrefundable. Should UVA cancel the event, all participants will receive a full refund or credit toward future classes.