24 Jun Telluride Plein Air 2025, 6/30 – 7/6!
Telluride’s Sheridan Arts Foundation (SAF) presents the 22nd Annual Telluride Plein Air. The happening takes place June 30–July 6, 2025.
The beloved tradition annually brings 24 nationally recognized artists to Telluride and Mountain Village. Over the course of the week, these mark-makers will pick up where the old guard, the original Impressionists, left off, capturing the natural beauty, vibrant light, and unique charm of the region in real time in the open air.
En plein air is a French expression, which means “in the open air.” The term is used to describe the act of painting outdoors, popularized in the 19th century.
Going deeper…
Eugene Boudin was one of the more adventurous 19th-century painters, known primarily for his beach scenes and seascapes of northern France and for his luminous skies. One of Boudin’s students was a young painter named Claude Monet. Boudin taught him the importance of painting a scene directly from nature in the light, i.e. in the open air, just as it was. In the stroke of Monet’s brush, Impressionism was born.
And out went the dark palette of the Barbizon School.
When they first came on the scene back in 1874, artists who ultimately became art world celebs – Monet, Manet, Renoir, Bonnard, and Degas – were considered rebels. Defying the traditions of the official Salon de Paris, they moved their studios outdoors into the open air to facilitate direct observation of nature, thereby defying a trend popular throughout the 19th century (and with the Salon de Paris) to paint historical or literary subjects and realistic landscapes.
Originally the fraternity called itself “Societe Anonyme,” but a critic hatched what he believed to be a derisive handle based on the title of one of Monet’s paintings in a group show, “Impression: Sunrise.”
The Impressionists went on to use landscapes and scenes from everyday life as covers for their true subjects: color and light.
So…
It’s now same song – but new verse, with new crop of voices.
American artists were attracted to the spontaneity of the Impressionists and the freedom of creating in the Great Outdoors instead of in the confines of a studio. Suddenly, locations blessed with remarkable light became the go-to for painters on both coasts and in American Southwest, where colonies of American Impressionists formed.
The descendants of whom are now hanging around and doing their thing, which is tuning into whatever the Telluride region summons.
Their works on canvas will be showcased in a three-day art exhibition and sale from Friday, July 4 through Sunday, July 6.
Visitors are invited to explore and purchase originals depicting everything from wildflower-filled meadows and majestic peaks to colorful scenes of downtown Telluride.
Each artist typically creates 10 to 20 paintings, resulting in more than 200 original pieces available for sale.
In addition to their plein air work, artists are also invited to display one studio painting of Telluride created prior to their arrival in town. Those images will be clearly marked.
As in years past, this year’s crop of artists were selected through a competitive juried process held in late 2024. Over 95 applicants vied for a spot.
Telluride Plein Air also welcomes back the top five sellers from the previous year, along with the Artist Choice Award-winner Allen Brockbank of Utah.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
June 30 – July 2 (all day): Plein Air artists at work at various locations in and around Telluride:
Visitors and locals alike will have the unique opportunity to observe 24 of the nation’s top plein air artists as they paint on location. Artists paint on site during the sale as well.
Thursday, July 3 (5-8:30 p.m.)
Golden Hour Quick Draw Competition/Artist Choice Preview Cocktail Party & Sale. The event is free and open to the public! However the VIP Party is invitation only.
5:00- 6:30 p.m| 90-minute painting competition on Main Street
6:45 p.m.| Quick Draw Awards / Sale Outside the Sheridan Opera House
7:00- 8:00 p.m | Artist Choice Preview & Cocktail Party in the SHOW Bar
7:20 p.m | Artist Choice Presentation – 1st Place $3,000 · 2nd Place $1,500 · 3rd Place $500
7:30 p.m | Band on the Patio
8:00 p.m.| Public will be invited to view paintings in the Theater
Friday, July 4 & Sunday, July 6 (9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.) – Saturday, July 5 (12 p.m. – 6 p.m.)
Plein Air Exhibition & Art Sale – Sheridan Opera House Courtyard /Elks Park: This event is free and open to the public! Plein Air memorabilia (posters, notecards and tote bags) will be available for sale in addition to paintings.
Please note that artists are limited to hanging eight – ten paintings at one time, so new paintings will continually be displayed as others sell — especially the second day of the sale!
Please note: if there is inclement weather, the sale will be moved inside the Sheridan Opera House theater.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:
• Kirsten Anderson – WY
• Marc Anderson – WI
• Suzie Baker – TX
• Paul Bergquist – WI
• Carla Bosch – TX
• Richard Boyer – UT
• Allen Brockbank – UT
• Michele Byrne – NM
• Philip Alexander Carlton – CO
• Lyudmila Tomova Clark – NC
• Lorraine Marie Cote – CA
• David E. Dallison – IL
• Bill Enyart – CO
• Meisha K. Grichuhin – CA
• Rajendra KC – Nepal
• Lynn M. Lewis – MD
• Jeffrey M. Markowsky – GA
• Marie J. Massey – CA
• Wayne McKenzie – CA
• Barbara Meikle – NM
• Timothy E. Padilla – UT
• Richard Sneary – MO
• Stephen B. Stauffer – UT
• Richie N. Vios – TX
Telluride Plein Air, more:
Founded in 2003, Telluride Plein Air is a signature fundraiser for the Sheridan Arts Foundation, which supports year-round community programming and the ongoing preservation of the historic Sheridan Opera House, Telluride’s cultural cornerstone since 1913.
Proceeds from the art sales are shared between the artists (60%) and the SAF (40%), directly benefitting local arts initiatives.
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