Spring City, a bucolic small town and registered historic district located in the heart of Utah, is a favorite painting locale for many artists. The scenic, pastoral landscape lends itself to creativity and landscape painting. Sanpete County is dotted with sheep, cattle, horses and agricultural farmlands, as well as historic towns. Artists love it for its beautiful countryside, majestic mountains and brilliant blue skies. Forbes magazine has recognized Spring City as one of America’s prettiest small towns.

Spring City Arts hosts one of the premier annual plein air painting events in the State of Utah. The 2017 event begins for participating artists on Tuesday, August 29 and the competition painting continues through Friday, September 1. The finished paintings are turned in by 5:00 pm Friday evening. At 7:00 pm, a reception will be held in the Spring City Arts Gallery on Main Street, and award winners will be announced during that reception.

The morning of Saturday, September 2, registered artists will participate in a “paint-out” event, with the finished paintings being sold at an auction, to be held at 11:00 am. Visitors are encouraged to come early and watch the artists at work, then purchase the paintings they like the most. An exhibition and sale of works from the plein air competition will be held from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. on that Saturday. This is a great chance to add works by some remarkable artists to your collection.

Artists participating in the plein air event may paint anywhere in Sanpete County; its cities, farms, mountains and streams and of course in Spring City. Possible images include historic streets and structures, pastoral vistas, mountain and stream scenes and agricultural subjects. Participants may paint up to 4 plein air works for submission, following registration of blank canvases. All traditional plein air painting mediums are acceptable, but work must be created “en plein air” — painted outdoors, on-site, without the assistance of photography or technology. All paintings created during the competition will be available for purchase at the Saturday sale.

Participating artists will be competing for cash prizes — $1,500 for the winner, $1,000 for second place and $500 for third place. Honorable mention awards include a $100 cash prize. A number of purchase awards will also be offered.

Applications for the painting competition may be downloaded from the Spring City Arts facebook page.

The Spring City Arts annual Artist Studio Tour will be held in Spring City on Saturday, September 2. Participating artists will open their studios and galleries

—art will be on sale at most of these locales. A number of prominent artists are expected to participate in the Artist Studio Tour.

Tickets for the studio tour (at a price of $10 for adults and $5 for children) will be available at the Spring City Arts Gallery, on Main Street near Center Street in Spring City, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on the day of the tour. Visitors will obtain a map of the artist studios at that time and can see a representation of local artwork in the Spring City Arts Gallery adjacent to the ticket sales booth, proceeding from there to the individual artist studios.

Spring City Arts, a non-profit organization of artists working in Spring City and Sanpete County, is hosting these events. Zions Bank, the law firm of Durham Jones & Pinegar and Sanpete County Economic Development are sponsors.

Collectors interested in sponsoring purchase awards should contact Chris Anderson through the Spring City Arts website or facebook page.

The following schedule is planned:

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, August 29 – August 31

8 – 10 am & 4 – 6 pm: Artist Registration All Day: Painting for the competition.

Friday, September 1

8 – 10 am: Artist Registration
Dawn – 5 pm: Painting continues
5 pm: Competition ends and completed works turned in and judged
7 pm – 9 pm: Plein Air Art Show Preview, Announcement of Award Winners and reception for participating artists and visitors

Saturday, September 2

Dawn – 10:00 am: Quick Paint Event along Spring City Main Street (photos allowed) 10:00 am — Noon: Paintings displayed on lawn North of Gallery
11:00 am – Noon: Live Auction (note number of openings for quick paint is limited)

10 am – 4 pm: Artists Studio Tour
10 am – 4 pm: Plein Air Exhibit & Sale Evening – Celebratory Barn Dance