Plein-air competition comes to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Plein Air Smokies launches September 21st at Great Smoky Mountains National Park/Friends of the Smokies

Nearly two dozen established artists will be in Great Smoky Mountains National Park later this month to showcase their skills at the Friends of the Smokies’ annual Plein Air Smokies event.

The artists will create unique paintings capturing the beauty of the Smokies and sell the artwork to raise money for the park.

The event runs from September 21-28. The week begins with artists heading to locations throughout the Smokies to paint scenic landscapes. The artwork will be available for purchase in Knoxville, Tennessee on September 27 and 28. Plein Air Smokies is now in its third year and has raised more than $160,000 for the park over the past two years.

Plein Air Smokies also offers students from two local schools the opportunity to learn directly from professional artists. Selected by their schools, students spend a day in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park creating their own works under the guidance of Plein Air artists using techniques unique to outdoor painting.

“This event celebrates the long-standing tradition of artists capturing and sharing the beauty of the Smokies,” said Dana Soehn, president and CEO of Friends of the Smokies. “Artwork is an important way for people to make a meaningful connection to this special place.”

The first opportunity to purchase the paintings will be at the Collectors Soiree on September 27th at Regas Square Events in downtown Knoxville. Tickets for the soiree are $150 each and can be purchased now on the Plein Air Smokies website. Artwork left over after the soiree will be available for purchase at Regas Square Events on Saturday, September 28th.

The festivities will continue throughout downtown Knoxville on Saturday morning, September 28, with a Quick Draw contest that anyone can enter. Participating artists must register online and pay a $30 entry fee by September 20. On the morning of September 28, artists will sign up on the Market Square stage and then have until 11 a.m. to paint the location of their choice in downtown Knoxville. Judges will evaluate artwork at 11:30 a.m. and announce awards at noon. Artwork created during the Quick Draw will also be available for purchase. All details about Quick Draw Rules, schedule and registration information can be found on the Plein Air Smokies website.

A prestigious prize of the open Quick Draw competition is an invitation to become one of the Plein Air Smokies artists in 2025. Susan Waters of Georgia won the 2023 Quick Draw open competition and will return in 2024. She will take Plein-air artist Harsh Agrawal, Marc Anderson, Zufar Bikbov, John Caggiano, Henry Coe, Vlad Milan Duchev, Orville Giguiento, John Guernsey, Neal Hughes, Shelby Keefe, Chuck Marshall, Dylan McKnight, Charles Newman, Kathie Odom, Antwan Ramar, Jeremy Sams, Richard Sneary, Richie Vios and Stewart White.

More information about this year’s artists, Sponsorsand the complete Schedule of events are available from Plein Air Smokies website.