2019

Paint Out Gardens Series 2019

Paintings created at Paint Out Gardens 2019

Paint Out Gardens took place May to October in 2019 across 6 historic or hidden Norfolk gardens. 36 plein air artists painted the gardens through the seasons. Prizes were awarded by Charlotte Crawley – art historian, former curator and past Director of the East Anglia Art Fund, and by Tom Humphreys and Sophie Barrett of Fairhurst Gallery.

 

Paint Out Holt 2019

Paintings created at Paint Out Holt 2019

Paint Out Holt took place 19-20 July. 22 plein air artists across 3 sessions from Friday to Saturday morning ahead of opening the Holt Festival at Picturecraft Gallery in Holt. Prizes were awarded by Robert Upstone, former Senior Curator of 20th Century Art at Tate and Norfolk-based Art Historian, Charlotte Crawley – a former curator and past Director of the East Anglia Art Fund.

Paint Out Norfolk 2019

Paintings created at Paint Out Norfolk 2019

Paint Out Norfolk took place 1-7 July. 27 plein air artists toured Norfolk’s rivers, beaches and Broads, the palatial Palladian Houghton Hall with Henry Moores, as well as Bishop’s Bridge in Norwich itself and the Sainsbury Centre at UEA campus and sculpture park. Seven painting days in the summer sun! Read about the Prize-winning artworks here.

 

Paint Out Elsing Hall Gardens

Artist Stephen Johnston painting plein air at Paint Out Elsing Hall Gardens, Norfolk
Elsing Hall, Norfolk
Elsing Hall, Norfolk

Elsing Hall Gardens on 16 Jun & 15 Sep 2019 is the second of six days painting in several of Norfolk’s great gardens, and this grade I listed rural home has been described as “one of the hidden treasures of East Anglia”. The one-day paint out will take place among the 20-acre estate of the fifteenth-century house and medieval moat near Dereham. In the nineteenth-century, its appearance was recorded in watercolour paintings by Rev James Bulwer now held in the Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery.

Of particular interest in June are the roses in full bloom including:

“a multitude of old English roses that adorn the walls of the house, the walled garden and many borders giving off an almost overpowering scent when in full bloom. Roses in the collection include the famous R. Mme. Alfred Carrier, Vita Sackville West’s favourite R. Souvenir du Dr. Jamain, R. Fantin Latour, R. Cardinal de Richelieu, R. Rambling Rector, R. Ragosa Rosa de l’Hay as well as literally hundreds more.” – Elsing Hall Gardens

Elsing Hall Gardens, Norfolk
Elsing Hall Gardens, Norfolk

The romantic gardens were established over 30 years ago under the direction of Shirley Cargill and have constantly developed ever since in terms of both restoration and innovation. There is a historic hydraulic ram pump that was installed almost 200 years ago and is still housed in its original underground brick pump house accessed by a spiral stairway.

Many other interesting features include the probably unique gingko avenue, the rapidly maturing pinetum, the formal Osprey Garden, the flowing planting around the moat, and densely planted with Lonicera Nitida viewing mound with a spiral path taking one slowly to the summit.

 

Paint Out Norfolk Gardens

Each of the events can be entered individually or as a series. The dates and locations of the Paint Out Gardens series are:

Artist Robert Nelmes painting plein air at Paint Out Elsing Hall Gardens, Norfolk
Artist Robert Nelmes painting plein air at Paint Out Elsing Hall Gardens, Norfolk
Elsing Hall Gardens (16 Jun & 15 Sep)
 

The finished artworks will be shown and available for sale at the eleven-day art exhibition during the October Hostry Festival in Norwich.

Paint Out Cambridge 2019

Paintings created at Paint Out Cambridge 2019

Paint Out Cambridge took place 13-17 May in partnership with Cheffins Fine Art. 30 experienced plein air artists used to working on the streets painted Cambridge’s classic colleges, chapels and beautiful bridges, punts on the River Cam, Market Square and other views. Three painting days, eight sessions, day and evening, all en plein air! Read about the Prize-winning artworks here.

Register interest in Paint Out Events

Paint Out plein air art competition event dates go live early each year but additional events may still be announced throughout. You can lodge a registration of interest in our various events – this is not an entry to an event, it just gets you on the Call to Artists announcement mailing list. The buttons below will also take you to live entry forms within the event entry-date windows.

You can register your interest below to be kept up to date when submission forms for each event are live and to be a part of future Paint Out events as well as other locations, and even suggest your own.

Paint Out Norfolk 13-20 July 2023   Paint Out Norwich 2023  

Paint Out plein air art competition UK events

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Paint Out Plein Air Painting Competition, Exhibition & Live Art Experience

Oxana Klip and James Colman painting Houghton Hall at Paint Out Norfolk 2019

Paint Out™ is an art event aiming to refresh and redefine 21st century en plein air art practice. Founded in 2014, we are the UK’s premier and only fully juried en plein air art competition, celebrating the talents of national and international artists before a wide audience in the heart of medieval and iconic Norwich, around beautiful Norfolk‘s towns, countryside, broads and coast. We’re also returning to Suffolk in 2024 and have also painted Cambridge. Many of our events are about extreme painting challenges, in any weather, up against the clock and the gaze of the art-loving public. Come and Experience Art, Live! 

Our last event in our 10th anniversary year – Paint Out Norfolk, 13-22 July 2023 attracted over 140 artist entries and 80 participants, and included art workshops and demos, a multi-day selling Exhibition, PV & Awards of the best art of the week.

Enter Paint Out Suffolk July 2024  Volunteer/Intern/Work with us  Paint Out History   

Paint Out 2024

Paint Out Suffolk, Southwold 5-7 July 2024Stop Press: We are back in Suffolk in 2024! Paint Out Suffolk will be in Southwold, 5-7 July Apply here. This is our 11th year with over 20 events under our belt across 3 counties and we felt a return to Suffolk (we last painted Sudbury in 2018) and to the coast was well overdue. A breath of fresh air and sea air.

Paint Out Suffolk, 5-7 July 2024

Three-day art event in Southwold including coast, town and Reydon marshes nr Old Hall Farm Cafe. [Info here…] Paint Out Suffolk takes place 5-7 July around the idyllic seaside town of Southwold on the Suffolk heritage coast.

Come and capture the height of summer in this popular countryside and coastal location, from the marshes to the sea. Southwold hosts all the attractions of a working lighthouse, colourful beach huts, an award-winning pier, busy harbour, cliff-top cannon, home to Adnams brewery, and of course the bustling beach in British summertime. Nearby are Reydon marshes and the river Blyth.

Enter Paint Out Suffolk July 2024  View Paint Out Norfolk 2023 Gallery Paint Out Norfolk 2023 Art Catalogue  Participating Artist Info  Paint Out Workshops & Demos  Paint Out Exhibition  Volunteer/Intern/Work with us  Paint Out History   

Paint Out 2023

Artist Kate Gabriel painting Winterton allotments, Paint Out Norfolk 2020
Artist Kate Gabriel painting Winterton allotments, Paint Out Norfolk 2020

Our outdoor painting programme builds upon over 9 years of plein air art events and 3 years of 8-day tours of Norfolk and Norwich with open-air exhibitions seeing dozens of artwork sales and thousands also raised for charity. Each event sees interest from over 100 artists from UK, USA, France, Ireland, Malta, Scandinavia and elsewhere; do enter the UK’s most innovative plein air art event running each July with applications exceeding 140+ artist entries.

Artist Karen Adams painting on Winterton Beach dunes during Paint Out Norfolk 2020
Artist Karen Adams painting on Winterton Beach dunes during Paint Out Norfolk 2020

It’s an opportunity to brush up alongside new and familiar faces of the plein air art community. Challenge your creativity. Develop your skills – we have optional extra workshops and demos from guest artists Haidee Jo Summers, Roger Dellar, and Rob Nelmes. Come and capture the height of summer in county, city, coast, and countryside locations including Norwich, Norfolk seaside, inland Broads, seaport and market towns, several historic houses and gardens, and over-the-border forays to Constable country in Suffolk. There will be guest artists, painting demos, talks, socials, and art world judges.

Paint Out Norfolk 2023 Exhibition and Private ViewRecent judges have included Dr Sally Anne Huxtable, Michael Richardson, Maggi Hambling, Rob Adams, Hugh Pilkington and the Castle Museum’s Giorgia Bottinelli.

This year the judges include art historian and award-winning author Frances Spalding; art history at UEA alumni, Aylsham Picture House chair, art and antiques expert on Dickinson’s Real Deal, James Layte; and Andrew Bowyer, formerly head of Phillips’ Picture Department, and Sotheby’s Old Masters and now a Fine Art Consultant for Sworders. 

Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers will also be on-site during the PV on 20th July and through to 22nd July offering a free art appraisal service for one piece of your art/antique collection (Antiques Roadshow style!). They are the main sponsors of the event this year along with Rosemary & Co Brushes, Michael Harding Paints, and Norwich Art Supplies.

Enter Paint Out Norfolk 2023  Interactive Map of Painting Locations  Paint Out PV & Exhibition  Paint Out Norwich 2022 Gallery   View Paint Out Norfolk 2022 Gallery  Paint Out History  Paint Out Workshops & Demos    

Plein Air Painting DemoArt Workshops

Available to Paint Out Norfolk participating artists and non-entrants of any level alike

Experience Art – Live!

Get inspired by experiencing art “live”, watching its creation and creators and then come to an exhibition to see the finished paintings and artworks. 

Artist Will Topley at Paint Out Wells 2016 by Giacomo Gex on Vimeo.

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