Provided by Bucks County Community College:
Members of the planning committee for the first annual Bucks County Plein Air Festival get some fresh air behind Tyler Hall at Bucks County Community College
Credit: Bucks County Community College
Bucks County Community College, which has been cultivating art and creativity for more than fifty years, has partnered with the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce and Alan Fetterman Fine Arts to cohost the first annual Bucks County Plein Air Festival June 7 – 11.
Plein air borrows from the French term “en plein air,” or “in open air.” Fifty artists from across the country, who were chosen competitively by four jurors, will produce an incredible 150 to 200 paintings outdoors, capturing landscapes and streetscapes from all corners of picturesque Bucks County.
The public is invited to watch the creativity in action, culminating with more than $15,000 in prizes awarded by jurors at the college’s Tyler Tasting Party Friday, June 10, and concluding with an exhibition and festival Saturday, June 11.
“Bucks County has a long tradition of landscape painting, most notably with the Pennsylvania impressionists who gravitated to New Hope and its environs in the early 20th century,” said Fran Orlando, the college’s Director of Exhibitions and Artmobile and a member of the festival planning committee. “It’s not unusual to see an artist painting outdoors in Bucks County because of this tradition, but this festival will be the first time that a large number of artists from all over the country will be here at the same time to capture on canvas the natural beauty of our area.”
For the first three days of the festival, the juried artists will be sent out in the field to select sites in Northern, Central and Southern Bucks County to paint pastoral scenes in rural areas and parks, or slices of life in historic Bucks County villages and towns. The final two days take place at Bucks County Community College in Newtown.
The festival schedule is as follows.
Day 1: Northern Bucks County – Tuesday, June 7
Spot the artists documenting everyday life in Perkasie, beautiful vistas on Lake Nockamixon, life as it was at Pearl S. Buck’s farm, or the quaint river villages to the east, such as Point Pleasant and Upper Black Eddy.
Day 2: Central Bucks County – Wednesday, June 8
From the early morning hours until sunset, easels will pop up on Doylestown’s Mercer mile, Washington’s Moland House Headquarters in Warwick, the Delaware Canal towpaths, the charming villages of New Hope and Lumberville, and hidden gems in between.
Day 3: Southern Bucks County – Thursday, June 9
The artists decide where history takes them on day three: Bristol’s Radcliffe Street, King George II Inn and its riverfront views; Newtown Borough, listed on the National Registry of Historic Places; or beautiful Washington Crossing Historic Park.
Day 4: Tyler Tasting Party – Friday, June 10, 6 – 10 p.m.
Guests at the 28th annual fundraiser at Bucks County Community College’s Tyler Hall can mingle with the artists and purchase art produced during the festival. The event also marks the opening of the Bucks County Plein Air Exhibition. Master of ceremonies David Rago, a fine-art appraiser on PBS’s Antiques Roadshow, will announce ten awards totaling more than $15,000 in prizes. Tickets for Tyler Tasting can be purchased from the Bucks County Community College Foundation at 215-968-8224 or foundation@bucks.edu.
Day 5: Bucks County Plein Air Festival Exhibition – Saturday, June 11, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Exhibition and sale of art created during the festival takes place at Bucks County Community College’s Linksz Pavilion. There will also be a Quick Draw competition in Tyler Hall’s cobblestone courtyard, in which all 50 artists will have one hour produce a painting. The contest, sponsored by the Arts & Cultural Council of Bucks County, starts at 11 a.m. The 50 new creations will then be available for purchase at the festival in the Linksz Pavilion. The family-friendly festival also features music, specialty food trucks, and Artmobile, the college’s traveling outreach museum. Admission is free.
Jurors for the festival are Kenn Backhaus, a signature member and past president of Plein-Air Painters of America who was featured on the PBS series, “Plein Air: Painting the American Landscape”; Alan Fetterman, an award-winning Bucks County impressionist and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Bucks County Community College; Al Gury, a painter and educator who was designated a master teacher by the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and American Artist magazine; and Lisa Tremper Hanover, director and CEO of the James A. Michener Art Museum.
Bucks County Community College is located at 275 Swamp Rd., Newtown, Pa., where there is plenty of free parking. For a campus map and directions, visit www.bucks.edu.
The Bucks County Plein Air Festival is made possible by the main sponsorship of Penn Color of Doylestown, as well as many patrons and volunteers who have donated their time and money to ensure the festival’s success. To learn more, visitwww.buckscountypleinair.org, email bcpleinair@bucks.edu, or contact Tobias Bruhn, executive director of the BCCC Foundation, at 215-968-8224.
