Royal Norfolk Show

Paint Out Royal Norfolk Show 2017 Art Gallery

Paintings created at the Royal Norfolk Show 2017

Paint Out 2017 saw an en plein air invitational event at the Royal Norfolk Show. Fifteen hardy artists painted all the colour and character of the UK’s largest two-day agricultural event amidst torrential downpours and mud to rival Glastonbury! From fairground to farriers, and pigs to poultry, there was plenty to paint. Our artists were positioned around the Norfolk Showground site, returning their wet artworks every few hours to our tent for a live art auction on the first day, and continually refreshed rolling exhibition over both days.

Royal Norfolk Show Plein Air Invitational, June 2017

Royal Norfolk Show Art & Music, Paint Out
Paint Out – part of the RNS Art & Music show

Paint Out 2017 featured a select group of invited artists painting the UK’s largest two-day agricultural fair – the Royal Norfolk Show. With up to 100,000 visitors it is the premier event of its kind.

Fifteen hardy artists painted all the colour and character of the fauna, flora, and fun of the fair amidst torrential downpours and mud to rival Glastonbury! From fairground to farriers, and pigs to poultry, there was plenty to paint. So long as the rain held off! That said, we pushed the artists out irrespective of the weather. (See the gallery)

First Prize-winning artist Robert Nelmes painting blacksmiths under sponsor Leathes Prior‘s big umbrella at Paint Out RNS17. Photo by Katy Jon Went

It took, however, an adventurous, as much as artistic, spirit in each artist to seek out semi-sheltered locations from which to paint some challenging views with overbearing skies and a sea of tents and puddles.

Some artists ended up sharing a sty with pigs, a tent with an owl, a marquee with chickens, the back of a van with rescued greyhound, or the awaiting-judging ring with cattle.

Our artists were positioned around the Norfolk Showground site, returning their wet artworks every few hours to our tent for labelling, pricing, and display in our contemporary pop-up art gallery.

Keys Auctioneers Paint Out Art Auction at RNS 2017. Photo by Katy Jon Went

Sat next to the main art tent at the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association showground the Leathes Prior sponsored Paint Out tent was filled with art made on the day. There was an auction of the still-wet fresh art on the Wednesday 28th by Arnolds Keys fine art auctioneers and a rolling gallery exhibition and sale of paintings from shortly after 8am 28 June to 6pm 29 June.

Paint Out Royal Norfolk Show Prizes

Archant newspapers sponsored and presented £500 of prizes for First and Second places “Best in Show” paintings to Robert Nelmes and Tom Cringle. Norwich Art Supplies provided the art materials voucher prizes, presented to Haidee-Jo Summers and Mo Teeuw, for the jointly-shared ‘Spirit of Plein Air‘ award.

View the Gallery of artworks painted at the Royal Norfolk Show, the winners, and those still for sale.

First Prize Robert Nelmes, Second Prize Tom Cringle at Paint Out Royal Norfolk Show 2017. Photo by Katy Jon Went
First Prize Robert Nelmes, Second Prize Tom Cringle at Paint Out Royal Norfolk Show 2017. Photo by Katy Jon Went

Art Exhibition Gallery of Plein Air Paintings

Galleries of Paint Out events

Our events offer everything from mass public plein air paint outs, to one-day pop-up explorations of East Anglian towns and countryside, intense weekend events painting dawn to dusk, and our premier fully-juried and selected 8-day event in Norwich & Norfolk. Click the links below to view the historic event galleries or scroll down for the most recent events. Paint Out Norfolk 2022 coming 23 July and after with regular updates/uploads.

Paint Out Ludham 2022 | Paint Out Norfolk 2021 | Paint Out Norfolk 2020

Paint Out Cambridge 2019 | Paint Out Norfolk 2019 | Paint Out Holt | Paint Out Gardens Series

Paint Out Great Yarmouth 2018 | Norwich 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | Royal Norfolk Show 2017 | Sudbury 2018 | Wells 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015

Paintings created at Paint Out Ludham 2022

Paintings created at Paint Out Norfolk 2021

Artist Tom Cringle

Artist Tom Cringle at Paint Out Norfolk, Wells Beach
Tom Cringle painting Norfolk Showground at RNS17. Photo by KJW
Tom Cringle painting Norfolk Showground at RNS17

Tom Cringle has been exhibiting and selling work for nearly 20 years. Self-taught, he works predominately in acrylic and oil.

His first exhibition was in The Old Black Horse shop in Burnham Market. Tom’s work has further been featured in solo and joint shows which include: Fabulous Frames in Norwich, The Mall Gallery in London, The Flint Gallery in Blakeney and Aldeburgh Contemporary Art in Suffolk. He has recently exhibited at and been accepted by the East Anglian Group of Marine Artists (EAGMA).

Awards | Art Gallery | Purchase

Tom specialises in landscapes and seascapes inspired by the beauty and big skies of Norfolk and beyond. He loves to paint the expansive skies that are seen over the beaches of Norfolk and Suffolk using large canvases to allow as much sky as possible to be included. In 2016, he scooped a First and Second Prize in Paint Out Norwich Nocturnes and Mixed Media categories, following this up in 2017 with Second Prize in Paint Out at the Royal Norfolk Show.

Paint Out Awards

Artist Tom Cringle

Paint Out Sudbury – Artists’ Choice Prize (2018)
Paint Out Royal Norfolk Show – Second Prize (2017)
Paint Out Norwich – Nocturne First & Mixed Media Second Prizes (2016), selected and participated (2015, 2017)
Paint Out Wells – selected and participated (2015, 2017, 2018)
Paint Out Norfolk – selected and participated (2019, 2020, 2021)

Sample Gallery & Works for Sale

 

Art Sale Enquiry

 

 

Artist Haidee-Jo Summers

Artist Haidee-Jo SummersHaidee-Jo Summers describes her work as a celebration of sea, wind, sky, light and life revealed in rich and vibrant oil paint, using personal visual language of fresh and direct brushmarks. Painting en plein air is central to her practice, and she travels to seek new experiences and fresh inspiration to feed back into her studio work. She strives for simplicity and economy and to make every mark count, walking a fine line between shape and suggestion.

Haidee-Jo was one of the few artists chosen to record the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee River Pageant with an en plein air painting. Ken Howard RA gave her an award saying that her paintings “really make you see and very often reflections aren’t seen, her work makes you see them.”

From her four-times winning of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI) Young Artist Award, Haidee-Jo has emerged as a multi-award winning sought after artist and was Paint Out‘s first ever winner in 2014. She followed this up with sharing the Spirit of Plein Air Prize at the Royal Norfolk Show Paint Out for her “Waiting to be Judged” painting.

Paint Out Awards

Paint Out Royal Norfolk Show – Spirit of Plein Air Prize (2017)
Paint Out Norwich – selected and participated (2015), First Prize (2014)

Haidee-Jo Summers painting Chickens at RNS17. Photo by Katy Jon Went
Haidee-Jo Summers painting chickens at Royal Norfolk Show

Other Awards

Great Art Award (2016, 2015)
The Artist, Exhibition Award (2016, 2014)
Buxton Spa prize, First Prize (2014)
Pro Arte Award (2014,2012)
Rosemary Brushes Prize, ABWTB (2014)
Royal Talens Award (2013)
ROI portrait evening, First Prize (2012)
SAA, Artist of the Year award (2012)
ROI, Young Artist Award (2007, 2005, 1998, 1997)

Sample Gallery & Works for Sale

Art Sale Enquiry

Paint Out Plein Air Art Competition

Forthcoming Events

Paint Out Ludham, ** open to entries ** 26 June 2022

In June we will paint 16 open gardens and a 14th-century church based in the beautiful Ludham, on the Norfolk Broads. Home to Edward Seago and Kieron Williamson, this event will also see classic cars, heritage boats, and the village life of a summer festival celebration in full swing.

Paint Out Ludham 2022   Join Our Mailing List   Paint Out Register interest   

Paint Out Norfolk Churches, ** postponed ** 2022

This year sees two warm-up events ahead of July’s art festival and competition. In May we will paint a historic 1000-year-old church in order to help fund its preservation and also paint the sweeping views to the East Coast, lakes and arboretum belonging to James Colman nearby.

Paint Out Norfolk Churches 2022   Join Our Mailing List   Paint Out Register interest   

Paint Out Norfolk, 15-23 July 2022

Our outdoor painting programme builds upon 8 years of plein air art events and 2 years successful and Covid-safe 8-day tours of Norfolk and Norwich with an open-air exhibition that saw dozens of artwork sales. In 2022, we are expanding again to welcome over 90 artists (80+ already enrolled) and add more facilities on-site (art materials, food and beverages etc). With interest from over 100 artists from UK, USA, France, do sign up early (still 33% off) to join the UK’s most innovative plein air art event – the 15-23 July 2022 event is now open for entries with early bird pricing. Come and capture the height of summer in city, coast and countryside locations including Norwich, Norfolk seaside, inland Broads, market towns, and historic houses, gardens and parks, allotments and cemeteries!

Paint Out Norfolk 2022   Join Our Mailing List   Paint Out Register interest   

Paint Out Norwich Nocturnes, 27-29 October 2022

This autumn, we are revisiting Norwich and its contrasting medieval streets and modern shops with a specific emphasis on a Nocturne painting festival running Thursday evening through to a Saturday Private View and Sunday exhibition in Cathedral Close, Tombland.

Paint Out has showcased Nocturne painting since we began in 2014. This year’s October event will be primarily focused on the plein air skill of painting as the sun disappears and evening lights appear, perhaps reflecting off damp cobbles the neon glows of shops and yellowed street lamps.

 

Past Events

Paint Out Norwich, 15-17 October 2021

We returned to the autumn and Norwich for a Hostry Festival anniversary special and exhibition in the Maddermarket Theatre.

Paint Out Norwich 2021 Gallery 

Paint Out Norfolk, 16-23 July 2021

We continued the new 1-8 days+ summer format with 70 artists and double the exhibition capacity. Artists painted from Hunstanton to Winterton, Gooderstone Water Gardens to Gunton Park, and across Norwich and the Norfolk Broads. 

Judges included artists Maggi Hambling and Rob Adams, and curator/art historian Giorgia Bottinelli.

Paint Out Norfolk 2021 Gallery 

Paint Out Norfolk, 16-23 July 2020

Moving our premier event to the summer allows us to spend up to 8 days in Norwich and Norfolk, around city, coast and countryside, including seaside and market towns as well as the iconic historic medieval city of Norwich itself.

Paint Out Norfolk 2020 Gallery 

Paint Out Norwich Midwinter, 18 Dec 2019

Following 2018’s midwinter free event we are returning to Norwich Market, Jarrolds and the surrounding area to paint the seasonal scenes. We’ll be there from 1-5pm and then have a drink together. Paint early for the light, paint late for the lights, or paint both! There is no charge for this free event but registration via our website or Facebook would help us with numbers and racking space.

Paint Out Norfolk Gardens, May-Oct 2019

Throughout 2019 we explored Norfolk’s great gardens with a succession of one-day events at:

Paint Out Gardens 2019 Gallery

Paint Out Holt, 19-20 July 2019

The Holt Festival (21-27 July), now in its eleventh year, invited Paint Out to open this year’s Festival with a two-day Paint Out and Private View (19-20 July) around the charming North Norfolk town. Robert Upstone a Tate curator judged the event at Paint Out Holt as well as Charlotte Crawley (Art Historian, former EAAF).

Home to 500-year-old Gresham’s School (alumni include WH Auden, Olivia Colman, Benjamin Britten, James Dyson, and the artist Ben Nicholson), this two-session Paint Out was backed up by a ten-day exhibition in Picturecraft of Holt, a gallery and Art material supplier with the winners exhibiting alongside the now well established Holt Art Prize. 

Join Our Mailing List   Paint Out Register interest   Paint Out Holt 2019 Gallery

Paint Out Norfolk, 1-7 July 2019

Paint Out Norfolk took place in conjunction with The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts 1-7 July (painting days 1st-5th, PV 5th, Exhibition 6th-7th) based around the Sainsbury Centre/UEA campus site and painting further afield including Wells-next-the-Sea, the Broads, and Houghton Hall park. 

Join Our Mailing List   Paint Out Register interest   Paint Out Norfolk 2019 Gallery 

Paint Out Cambridge, 13-15 May 2019

The inaugural Paint Out Cambridge took place 13-17 May (painting 13-15th, PV 16th, exhibition till 17th) in collaboration with Cheffins Fine Art who hosted the packed Private View. Iconic views, Cambridge colleges, Kings College Chapel, the River Cam – its punts and bridges, the Market, all featured in our first plein air Cambridge art event. Prizes included award cheques and Cass Art materials. View the winners and selected others gallery.

Paint Out Norwich Winter Nocturne, 19 Dec 2018

Paint Out Norwich ran a winter nocturne Christmas lights plein air and social, Wednesday 19 December 2018 4-7pm. The open-air painting and ‘pinting’ event, started out at the Bell Hotel pub and included a bottle of bubbly for the best painting of the evening. Some of the locations painted included the fifteenth-century Bell Hotel itself, Jarrolds, and the Market/City Hall. All three were decorated and illuminated with tasteful seasonal lighting.

Paint Out Norwich, 13-28 Oct 2018

Premier plein air juried art competition (13-17th) since 2014, artist workshops (13-26th) and art talks (15-16th), public paint out (21st), private view & art awards (17th), Hostry exhibition (18-28th) – more information | event gallery

Public Paint Outs & other One-Day Paint Outs

21 October 2018 in Norwich and more of these to follow…

Paint Out Wells-next-the-Sea, 8 Sep 2018

North Norfolk coast plein air painting competition. Since 2015 this event has seen workshops, demos, beach public paint outs at sunrise, Buttlands exhibition, day trips to neighbouring towns such as Blakeney, Burnham Market, Brancaster Staithe etc – more information | event gallery

Paint Out Great Yarmouth, 1 Sep 2018

A new one-day event is taking place – Paint Out Great Yarmouth on 1 September, from Seaside to Quayside, in collaboration with Norfolk Museums Service and particularly the Time and Tide Museum’s event ‘Drawn to the Coast: Turner, Constable, Cotman‘ which explores the identity of Great Yarmouth and its surrounding landscape through the artwork it has inspired – more information.

Paint Out Sudbury, Suffolk, 30 Jun 2018

One-day warm-up event in Gainsborough’s hometown with options to paint the town, Gainsborough garden, old railway line walk, the Watermeadows, and more. Great views and amazing local countryside on the Suffolk/Essex border – more information | event gallery

Paint Out at the RNS 28-29 June 2017

Paint Out 2017 featured a select group of invited artists painting the UK’s largest two-day agricultural fair – the Royal Norfolk Show. With up to 100,000 visitors it is the premier event of its kind – more information | event gallery

Paint Out 2014-2016

Previous paint outs also ran in Norwich 2014-2016 and Well-next-the-Sea 2015-2016.

 

 

Artists

Paint Out Norfolk 2021

Paint Out Norfolk 16-24 July 2021 expects 600+ paintings to be created by 75+ plein air artists at a dozen Norwich and Norfolk locations around coast and countryside with a week-long rolling exhibition at Whitlingham Country Park, Friday Awards and Private View with prestigious judges, and Saturday all-day Final View

Paint Out Norfolk 2020

Paint Out Norfolk 16-23 July 2020 saw 400+ paintings created by 50+ plein air artists at a dozen Norwich and Norfolk locations around coast and countryside with a week long rolling exhibition at Whitlingham Country Park and last day Final View. View the winners and other selected paintings gallery.

Paint Out Gardens Series 2019

Paint Out Gardens in Norfolk ran May-October 2019 and saw 130 paintings created by 36 plein air artists across the seasons and 6 hidden or historic gardens. Prizes were awarded by Norfolk-based Art Historian, Charlotte Crawley – a former curator and past Director of the East Anglia Art Fund, as well as Tom Humphrey and Sophie Barratt of the Fairhurst Gallery, Norwich. View the winners and other selected paintings gallery.

Paint Out Holt 2019

Paint Out Holt 19-20 July 2019 saw 55 paintings created by 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. View the winners and other selected paintings gallery.

Paint Out Norfolk 2019

Paint Out Norfolk 1-5 July 2019 saw 100 paintings created by 27 plein air artists at 5 Norwich and Norfolk locations from coast to county ending at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Art for a last day paint out and Private View. View the winners and other selected paintings gallery.

Paint Out Cambridge 2019

Paint Out Cambridge 13-15 May 2019 saw 135 artworks made by 28 plein air artists at this inaugural Cambridgeshire event with Cheffins Fine Art. View the winners and other selected paintings gallery.

Paint Out Norwich 2018

The fifth Paint Out Norwich took place 13-17 October 2018 with 35 artists producing nearly 300 artworks over 5 days. View the winners and other selected paintings gallery or browse by participating artist.

Participating Artists

Karen Adams, Paul Alcock, Eleanor Alison, Sarah Allbrook, Alex Atkinson, Virginia Bain, John Behm, Richard Bond, JC Bradwell, Hannah Bruce, Shaun Carey, Alfie Carpenter, Tom Cringle, Roger Dellar, Lucy Ellis, Emily Faludy, Andrew Farmer, Sue Field, Kate Gabriel, Jack Godfrey, Patricia Harper, Julie Hodgson, Andrew Horrod, Susan Isaac, Wendy Kimberley, Owen Mathers, Robert Nelmes, Eloise O’Hare, Rob Pointon, Jim Power, Sam Robbins, Tony Robinson (guest artist), Megan Rose, Pat Tinsley, Sue Willmer

Paint Out Wells-next-the-Sea 2018

The fourth Paint Out Wells-next-the-Sea took place on the north Norfolk coast on 8 September 2018. View the winners and other selected paintings gallery or browse by participating artist.

Participating Artists

Karen Adams, Paul Alcock, John Behm, Mary Blue Brady, Shaun Carey, James Colman (guest artist), Tom Cringle, Sheila Cunningham, Jan Dingle, Jan Gaska, Jack Godfrey, Audrey Hay, Julie Hodgson, Mary Kallagher, Susanna MacInnes, Aggie Matyjaszek, Eloise O’Hare, Georgina Potter, Sam Robbins, Lesley Williams

Paint Out Great Yarmouth 2018

Paint Out Great Yarmouth took place in the historic Norfolk coastal town on 1 September 2018. Yarmouth has featured in historic paintings and its history in art was portrayed during ‘Drawn to the Coast: Turner, Constable, Cotman‘ which explored the identity of Great Yarmouth and its surrounding landscape through the artwork it has inspired. J.M.W Turner and John Constable, Norwich School of painters such as Joseph Stannard, John Sell Cotman and John Crome were all drawn to paint here.

Participating Artists

Paul Alcock, Denise Allen, Virginia Bain, John Behm, Mary Brady, Sheila Cunningham, Jan Dingle, Emily Faludy, Jack Godfrey, Stephen Johnston, Wendy Kimberley, Eloise O’Hare, Robert Nelmes, Sarah Muir Poland, James Power, Sam Robbins, Lesley Williams

Paint Out Sudbury 2018

Paint Out Sudbury took place in the historic wool and silk town on 30 June 2018, on the Essex/Suffolk border, home to Thomas Gainsborough who inspired John Constable, with picturesque scenery including the Water Meadows, Valley Trail and River Stour, the old railway line, market town itself, St Peter’s Church, and Gainsborough’s house and garden, among the 247 Heritage Listed buildings. One day, two sessions, en plein air! View the gallery of artworks online.

Participating Artists

Eleanor Alison, John Behm, Sarah Berbank Green, Mary Blue Brady, James Colman (guest artist), Tom Cringle, Robin Drury, Jack Godfrey, Julie Hodgson, Andrew Horrod, Robert Nelmes, Eloise O’Hare, Sue Willmer

Plein Air Painting at the Royal Norfolk Show 2017

Paint Out 2017 saw an en plein air invitational event at the Royal Norfolk Show. Fifteen hardy artists painted all the colour and character of the UK’s largest two-day agricultural event amidst torrential downpours and mud to rival Glastonbury! From fairground to farriers, and pigs to poultry, there was plenty to paint. Our artists were positioned around the Norfolk Showground site, returning their wet artworks every few hours to our tent for a live art auction on the first day, and continually refreshed rolling exhibition over both days. View the gallery of artworks online.

Participating Artists

Paul Alcock, Tom Cringle, Nick Ellwood, Jack Godfrey, Jane Hodgson, Andrew Horrod, Jerome Hunt, Brian Korteling, Rod Major, Robert Nelmes, Eloise O’Hare, John Patchett, Jennifer Sendall, Haidee-Jo Summers, Mo Teeuw

Video of the First Prize winner Robert Nelmes painting the winning painting at the Royal Norfolk Show

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

Oxana Klip and James Colman painting Houghton Hall at Paint Out Norfolk 2019
Artist Rachel Wright painting allotments in Norwich during Paint Out Norfolk 2021
Artist Rachel Wright painting allotments in Norwich during Paint Out Norfolk 2021

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 and growing audience in the heart of medieval and iconic Norwich, as well as around beautiful Norfolk‘s towns, countryside, broads and coast. We’ve also popped up in Suffolk and in 2019 branched out to 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 next event is the big event itself – Paint Out Norfolk is 15-23 July with an Exhibition till 25 July.

View Paint Out Ludham 2022 Gallery  Enter Paint Out Norfolk July 2022  

Paint Out 2021/22

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 8 years of plein air art events and 2 years successful and Covid-safe 8-day tours of Norfolk and Norwich with open-air exhibitions that saw dozens of artwork sales and thousands raised for charity too. In 2021, we expanded with double the space for over 70 artists and more facilities on-site and we expand again in 2022. With interest from over 100 artists from UK, USA, France and elsewhere, do sign up early to join the UK’s most innovative plein air art event – the 15-23 July 2022 event is open for entries with early bird pricing (save up to £120) but is filling up fast with over 90 artists confirmed. 

A Sunday warm-up event also ran 26 June 2022 featuring 16 open gardens and a 14th-century church based in the beautiful Ludham, on the Norfolk Broads. Home to Edward Seago and Kieron Williamson, this event will also see classic cars, heritage boats, and the village life of a summer festival celebration in full swing.

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. Come and capture the height of summer in city, coast, and countryside locations including Norwich, Norfolk seaside, inland Broads, seaport and market towns, historic houses and gardens. There will be guest artists, painting demos, talks, socials, and art world judges. Last year’s included Maggi Hambling, Rob Adams, and Giorgia Bottinelli.

Finally, 27-29 October we are revisiting Norwich in the autumn with a specific emphasis on a Nocturne painting festival running Thursday evening through to a Saturday PV and exhibition in Cathedral Close, Tombland.

Enter Paint Out Norfolk 2022   Interactive Map of Painting Locations   Paint Out Norfolk PV & Exhibition   Paint Out Norfolk 2021 Gallery  

 

Paint Out 2020

PAINT OUT NORFOLK 2020 July 16th to July 23rd 2020

2020’s outdoor painting programme included an 8-day tour of Norfolk with over 50 of the 60+ accepted artists still able to attend, despite Covid. It meant a more measured event with socially distancing artists and a masked-up exhibition. Check out the painting locations Google map here. View the gallery of some of the finished artworks. Well over 400 paintings were created and the three judges: Sarah Flynn (Sworders), Amanda Geitner (EAAF) and artist Bruer Tidman, had a tough choice to narrow them down to 3 main prizes and a personal commendation each. James and Katy also awarded two artists with the Paint Out Spirit of Plein Air prizes for their body of work produced during the event, consistency and quality. The prizes, as in 2019, went to a trio of female artists: First Prize – Susan Isaac, Second Prize – Mary Blue Brady, Third Prize – Amanda Barrett, and commendations to Alfie Carpenter, Jack Godfrey, Naomi Clements-Wright, Spirit of Plein Air awards to Paul Alcock, Sam Robbins.

Paint Out Norfolk Exhibition   Paint Out Norfolk 2020 Gallery    Lockdown plein air Painting Survey  

 

Paint Out 2019

Artist Richard Bond painting from the Market at Paint Out Norwich Winter Nocturne
Artist Richard Bond painting from the Market at Paint Out Norwich Winter Nocturne

Following 2018’s midwinter free event we returned to Norwich Market, Jarrolds, Haymarket and the surrounding area in mid-December 2019 to paint the seasonal scenes. Some 20 artists participated, painting early for the light as well as late for the Christmas lights.

2019’s outdoor painting programme brought us to Cambridge with Cheffins Fine Art for the first time (13-15 May), The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts (1-7 July), a collaboration with the Holt Festival (19 July), and with the Norwich Hostry Festival (14-16 Oct). Our premier Norfolk plein air event offered variety of visual stimuli from beach and pine at Wells next the Sea, inland Broads at How Hill, park, house and Henry Moore sculptures at Houghton Hall, modern and more sculptures at UEA & the Sainsbury Centre culminating in judging, awards, a private view and an exhibition – now online.

Paint Out Gardens Series PVThrough a series of one-day paint puts we will also have explored Norfolk’s historic and hidden gardens including: Stody Lodge gardens (26 May), Elsing Hall gardens (16 Jun & 15 Sep), Houghton Hall walled garden (14 Sep), Hunworth Hall garden (5 Oct), Norwich Bishop’s Garden (14 Oct), Norwich Plantation garden (15 Oct). Art Exhibition (17-27 Oct).

Read more about our 2019 events launch. Visit galleries of past events.

Paint Out Cambridge Gallery   Paint Out Norfolk Gallery   Paint Out Holt Gallery   Paint Out Gardens Gallery  

 

Plein Air – Art works carried out in the open air – chiefly painting. 

The Paint Out competitions and invitationals accept any 2-dimensional media or mixed-media applied to a canvas/board/paper embracing drawing, pastels, oils, watercolour, gouache, acrylic, pen and ink, screen-printing, and even digital in certain categories. Innovation and originality are encouraged alongside traditional art forms. We are increasingly moving towards displaying mostly unframed ‘art in the raw’, showing off plein air art in a fresh way, hot – or rather wet off the easel. 

We seek to capture the urban city and country environments in contemporary ways for a new and modern audience as well as established art collectors. We bring art and artists to the people, rather than vice versa, with our artists on the streets and pop-up galleries on the greens. If you want to commission or collaborate with us to bring an event to your location, please get in touch.

We have a number of events in East Anglia before the annual premier event Paint Out Norwich to whet your appetite including several one-day PaintOuts in Norfolk historic and hidden gardens from May-early October including opportunities to paint historical changing rural and urban landscapes in Cambridge, Holt and Norfolk as we seek to use Paint Out events to document our changing environment.

Join Our Mailing List  Paint Out Register interest  Art Talks  Art & Painting Workshops  Gallery  Public Open Paint Outs  Volunteer with us

Past Events

2017 saw Paint Out go to the Royal Norfolk Show, and in 2018 we had events in Sudbury, Suffolk and Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. We aim to grow Paint Out year-on-year in terms of the variety, challenge, location, and quality of events.

Paint Out Norwich 2018

Paint Out Norwich 2018 competition, categories, prizes, event dates, and locations, for the plein air painting days during the Hostry Festival 2018 ran 13-17 October with 2-5 days of day and night (optional) painting, artist workshops, a public ‘paintout‘ (21 Oct), and a private view, awards and art sale. This was followed by an art exhibition of over 150 paintings until 28 October at the Norwich Cathedral Hostry each day. Over 50 applications were juried by our selector David Curtis ROI RSMA, and some 35 artists participated this year. 
 
Locations for painting included the bustling market – one of the oldest and certainly the largest in the UK, serene medieval Cathedral quarter including film-featured cobbled Elm Hill, the soon-to-change 1960s urban landscape of Anglia Square, its intact Norman Castle (and art gallery housing the Norwich School of Painters collection, paintings are also held by the TATE, Colman family and Mandell’s Gallery, the proprietor of which is one of the judges this year), and Norwich Lanes by night. There was also the opportunity to paint the historic Colman’s factory site before Unilever close operations there, the SCVA grounds, and Whitlingham Country Park.

The 2017 & 2016 galleries are viewable online, as are other past events.

Register Interest  PON2018 Map  Public Open Paint Out   Private View & Awards  Art & Painting Workshops  Art Talks

Paint Out Great Yarmouth, 1 Sep 2018

A new one-day event – Paint Out Great Yarmouth on 1 September, from Seaside to Quayside, in collaboration with Norfolk Museums Service and particularly the Time and Tide Museum’s event ‘Drawn to the Coast: Turner, Constable, Cotman‘ which explores the identity of Great Yarmouth and its surrounding landscape through the artwork it has inspired.

Register Interest  Gallery 

Paint Out Wells-next-the-Sea, 8 Sep 2018

The Paint Out Wells 2018 competition on the North Norfolk coast offers either a weekend-only pop-up event (2015-2017) or a one-day intensive paint day on the coast (2018) making it more accessible for those with jobs and other commitments. The event runs early September and in 2018 it was 8 September. 

Register Interest  Gallery 

Paint Out Sudbury, Suffolk, 30 Jun 2018

One-day warm-up event in Gainsborough’s hometown with options to paint the town, Gainsborough garden, old railway line walk, the Watermeadows, and more. Great views and amazing local countryside on the Suffolk/Essex border. [Gallery here…]

Register Interest  Gallery 

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

Norwich & Wells, Norfolk Art Class/Workshops/Talks

Paint Out provides an excellent opportunity for aspiring and seasoned artists to acquire and refresh core skills. Themes include painting and drawing, colour theory, composition, perspective, and best en plein air practice in oils, watercolour and other media, both as practical workshops and as public paint outs.  Our education programme is taught by experienced professionals and covers everything you need to take your art to the next level, with a particular emphasis on Plein Air essentials. In addition, we have entrepreneurial advice about growing your art business alongside your art practice covering blogging, social media, photography, framing, pitching to galleries, and selling. Finally, we put things in context with cultural and historical talks and tours.

Join our mailing list or register interest in our events to stay informed.

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Paint Out at the RNS 28-29 June 2017

RNS Art & Music, Paint Out

Paint Out 2017 featured a select group of invited artists painting the UK’s largest two-day agricultural fair – the Royal Norfolk Show. With up to 100,000 visitors it is the premier event of its kind. Our artists and team were to be found around the Show and at the Leathes Prior sponsored Paint Out tent. There was an auction of the still-wet fresh art on the Wednesday 28th by Arnolds Keys fine art auctioneers and a rolling gallery exhibition and sale of paintings from shortly after 8am 28 June to 6pm 29 June. Archant sponsored and presented £500 of prizes for First and Second places “Best in Show” paintings to Robert Nelmes and Tom Cringle. Norwich Art Supplies provided the art materials voucher prizes, presented to Haidee-Jo Summers and Mo Teeuw, for the jointly-shared Spirit of Plein Air award. View the Gallery of art painted and those still for sale.

Paint Out News, Updates & Social Media

You can read our latest blog posts, news and updates here. You can also contact us by Email and follow us on Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube to keep up to date with local art exhibitions, progress of the 2016 competition, and news about our artists.