Registration for the First Annual Charleston Plein Air Competition reached its 100-artist limit. The event was scheduled to run November 3 through 8 and was presented by the Blair Center for the Arts and Mary Martin Gallery, according to Charleston Daily and the organizer’s event page.
Competition rules and public schedule
The competition’s format required artists to paint outdoors and on location during the official event period. Under the organizer’s rules, each artist could submit up to two completed works for judging, exhibition and sale. The event offered at least $3,000 in cash prizes, and Kevin LePrince was the judge.
The public exhibition and sale at Mary Martin Fine Art Gallery in downtown Charleston opened Friday at 5 p.m. and continued through Sunday. Awards were announced and presented Saturday, according to Charleston Daily; the organizer’s event page also lists a weekend exhibition and sale.
Earlier plein air events in Charleston
Charleston had hosted plein air activity before this competition. Four local galleries hosted Plein Air Painters of the Southeast for a three-week exhibition, according to The Art Mag. The group, founded in 2001 by Dee Beard Dean and other painters, said its aim was to celebrate and educate the public about plein air painting.
Preserving Charleston’s historic streetscapes
Charleston’s preservation framework sets out goals and guidance for changes to historic areas. The City says it developed a Historic Preservation Plan in 1974 to protect the city’s historic and architectural heritage, and its Preservation Plan documents that history. The City’s Board of Architectural Review General Guidelines guide renovation and rehabilitation of historic buildings as well as new construction. These materials describe the framework’s purpose and scope, not its effect on particular streetscapes.
Other South Carolina paint-outs
Plein Air Painters Carolina’s event calendar lists a separate Hagood Mill Paint Out in Pickens on March 14. The calendar describes paint-outs as member gatherings at specific locations, usually followed by a show and tell—a different format from Charleston’s six-day competition.
Scenes painted during the competition
The Post and Courier reported that Mary O’Malley-Joyce traveled from New Jersey and painted Charleston scenes over four days. The newspaper reported that one of her works was a Thursday oil painting at Halsey Park depicting the Ashley River, spartina grass and the James Island Connector.
