Seventy artists from across the country will fan out across St. Charles and the Tri-Cities area starting Monday, setting up easels along the Fox River, in downtown storefronts, and inside a century-old Japanese garden for the city's third annual Plein Air event. The weeklong competition, running Aug. 17-23, has grown fast since its 2024 debut, and this year it comes with $5,250 in cash prizes and a public sale expected to feature more than 250 finished works.
The St. Charles Arts Council's event started with 40 juried artists in 2024, climbed to 58 in 2025, and has now hit 70 participants for 2026, according to the Shaw Local News Network. Plein air, French for painting in the open air, demands quick, observational work in whatever conditions the week throws at an artist, and this year's roster will paint day and night throughout the competition, per that report. The council itself has described the format as prioritizing keen observational skills under pressure rather than the controlled setting of a studio.
Judges will hand out awards across multiple categories, including Best in Show, Nocturne, and Quick Paint, with the $5,250 purse consistent with prior years, according to BaseLocal. The council keeps a 30% commission on artwork sold during the week and at the closing Grand Reveal sale, and once artists submit their entries, they are barred from changing prices, per rules published by EntryThingy. Registered artists can exhibit and sell up to four pieces plus whatever they produce during the Quick Paint session.
A Contest Open to Amateurs, Too
Not every brush in town has to belong to a juried professional. Residents without event registration can enter the Quick Paint competition at Pottawatomie Park on Wednesday, Aug. 19, for a $20 fee, competing in a separate two-hour, on-site judging window from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., per EntryThingy's contest rules. Every painting has to be started and finished inside that strict two-hour block, giving amateurs the same pressure-cooker conditions as the visiting professionals.
Pottawatomie Park itself carries some civic history worth noting: the 38-acre riverfront park was established in 1912 as the first public park created under the Illinois Park Act of 1911, according to the St. Charles Park District. It remains a central recreation hub along the Fox River in the Tri-Cities area today.
Week's Schedule Spans Downtown to the Fox River
The week opens Monday with the main competition running through Friday, Aug. 21, and includes a Paint the Town day on Tuesday, Aug. 18, dedicating that day to artists painting scenes throughout downtown St. Charles. An artist demonstration is set for Mount Saint Mary Park that same Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to noon.
Wednesday brings both the community Quick Paint contest and a Plein Air Yoga in the Park session at Pottawatomie Park, also from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., followed by an evening Artist Meet & Greet at Alter Brewing from 6 to 8 p.m., a portion of which will benefit the arts council. On Thursday, Aug. 20, the historic Fabyan Japanese Garden in nearby Geneva opens for viewing and painting from noon to 3 p.m. The one-acre garden was designed in 1910 by Japanese landscape architect Taro Otsuka on the former estate of George and Nelle Fabyan, according to the Dellora A. Norris Cultural Arts Center, and today it is maintained through Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley alongside the Forest Preserve District of Kane County.
Thursday evening continues with an Artist Mix & Mingle at 93 Octane St. Charles from 6 to 8 p.m. The arts council is also this month's beneficiary of 93 Octane's Community Pours program, which kicked off Aug. 6 and matches up to $50 for every gift card purchased in the council's name. Friday, Aug. 21 is billed as the Final Paint day, giving artists their last stretch of time to complete pieces before the Grand Reveal, with extended hours at the ARC Gallery that evening from 6 to 8 p.m.
Grand Reveal Set for a Century-Old Community Center
The week culminates Saturday, Aug. 22, with the Grand Reveal Party at the Baker Community Center from 6 to 9 p.m., where advance tickets grant a first look at the finished artwork along with the chance to buy pieces painted locally during the week. Tickets include $50 toward an artwork purchase that evening, an open bar, and hors d'oeuvres provided by The Graceful Ordinary.
The venue itself is marking a milestone of its own this year. The Henry Rockwell Baker Memorial Community Center celebrated its 100th anniversary in May, having been dedicated in May 1926 as a gift from Col. Edward J. Baker, according to Shaw Local's Kane County Chronicle. Col. Baker funded several landmark structures in St. Charles during the 1920s, cementing the family name across the city's civic architecture. The event wraps Sunday, Aug. 23, with a Plein Air Art Show at the same community center from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., offering an open public sale and the last chance to view and purchase the more than 250 pieces created during the week.
A Growing Arts Council Behind the Scenes
This year's expansion follows a period of organizational growth for the St. Charles Arts Council, which opened its first physical office and gallery space at 121 N. Second St. in downtown St. Charles in February 2025 after years without a brick-and-mortar home, per the Kane County Chronicle's earlier reporting. That permanent space has allowed the nonprofit to expand its gallery exhibits and public workshops beyond the annual paint week.
The council has also organized other interactive public art projects, including Paint the Town in a Banner Way, which displayed community-painted banners in Mount Saint Mary Park in partnership with the park district. Funding for programming like Plein Air comes in part through grants from the City of St. Charles Visitors Cultural Commission, which supports local nonprofits promoting tourism and public arts, with groups submitting funding requests to the city's finance department each spring. More information on the week's full schedule is available at stcharlesartscouncil.org.
