Royal Norfolk 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)

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.

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.