Every spring fifty plein air painters from as far away as Maryland and Pennsylvania converged on the intimate little desert town of La Quinta were a group of talented artists painted for six days at Desert Plein Air where they each competed for prizes as well as the opportunity to exhibit and sell their work.
Some of the week-long series of events included a Quick Draw Competition, the Grand Unveiling at the Hyatt Hall of Champions in Palm Desert and the two-day Umbrella Show.
This amazing program has given artists from around the country a platform to show their work. Sponsored by the City of La Quinta and the Laguna Plein Air Painters, a portion of the proceeds are donated each year to benefit the La Quinta Foundation, a non profit charitable organization that is dedicated to providing education, art and cultural opportunities for children, youth and adults.
Once inside the event, there were lines of paintings filling the room as patrons got the opportunity to view the still wet pieces of artwork as well as sharing a chat or two with the artist as they enjoyed the delicious gourmet spread that was served. There were awards for Best of the Show along with overall awards of excellence and the Quick Draw Award.
When the exhibition took a break, then it was time for lectures on such topics as the life of an artist and the work that is produced from past artists. The lecture series has included suck speakers/painters as Karl Dempwolf, Nikki Basch Davis, Camille Przewodek, Charles Waldman, and Tom Zephyrs to name a few.
The hectic schedule that was non-stop from day one concluded for the artists with the Umbrella Show. Here they were able to exhibit new work as well as recent paintings, allowing the casual observer a full array of portraits. Rows upon rows of booths were resurrected for the occasion in the colorful and fruitful gardens were the waterfalls displayed the flowing crystal clear waters. Some of the creations included deep deserts, towering mountains in full scope, scenes of produce fields that depicted the Coachella Valley lifestyle, of course the incredible Joshua Tree National Monument, the array of life at the Living Desert, and the whitewashed adobe architecture that is a signature of the Palm Springs-Palm Desert landscape.
Those that love art and look for life inspiration are best served to make the Desert Plein Air event a must on their next trip to Palm Springs and the California desert resort cities.
Mitchell Sussman has been a television producer for the past twenty five years. In that time he has produced adventure travel programming for such networks as Travel Channel, PBS, Fox Sports Net, Star TV and many others.
Mitchell is also a contributing editor to a website that provides information about and is a portal to hotels, golf, attractions, restaurants and events in Palm Springs and the California desert resort cities http://www.palmspringsvacationdiscounts.com/
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