Yavapai College Prescott Art Gallery presented Art in the Pines — the 6th annual Prescott Plein Air Festival — the last days of August at the Prescott Campus Gallery and selected scenic locations around Prescott.
It featured 17 artists from Arizona and two from California, painting Prescott’s pine forests, highland lakes and historic downtown architecture as the public watched and engaged with them at no cost.
Featured artists included the Plein Air Festival’s 2024 Best in Show winner Cindy Carrillo, as well as Dana Cohn, Tom Conner, Alison Crary, Robin Deshayes, Priya Drews, Kristine Dutton, Liam Dye, Lydia Gatzow, Lindsay Green, Lance Gulseth, Julia Jaakola, Igor Kogan, Cathy Kreiger, Deborah McAllister, Barbara Mulleneaux, Ben Norton, Anton Nowels and Jose Nunez.
“Plein air painting is very much a spectator sport, so to speak,” said Yavapai College Art Galleries Manager Tim Hull. “It’s really fun and interesting to watch the landscape in front of you take shape on a talented artist’s canvas.”
On Aug. 29, the public was invited to join all the artists on the grounds of Sharlot Hall Museum The next day, spectators watched the artists paint at Watson Lake.
The festival concluded with a ticketed public gala reception, art sale and presentation of artist awards Aug. 31 at the Yavapai College Prescott Art Gallery and the Jim and Linda Lee Performing Arts Center. Attendees visited with the artists and purchased their paintings directly.
The gala also included a memorial wall of paintings by the late Arizona plein air artist Gretchen Lopez, who passed away this year. Plein air painting is done outside to take advantage of the changing effects of atmosphere and natural light.
“One of the best things about the plein air festival is the opportunity to interact with people and to watch their reactions when they see my work,” said Ben Norton, Yavapai College Associate Professor of Art and 2025 Prescott Plein Air Festival artist. “Some scenes may be familiar, places they’ve seen all their lives, but every artist will interpret them differently and that can really surprise people.”
The 2025 judges were Flagstaff artist Dawn Sutherland and Sedona artist Shirley Eichten Albrecht. The Best of Show winner received $1,000 and a solo exhibition at YC’s Patty McMullen-Mikles Gallery in Clarkdale.
