OCEAN CITY — The Art League of Ocean City’s annual outdoor painting festival, “Artists Paint OC,” began this week and continues through the weekend, giving the public the opportunity to select from hundreds of just-created original landscape paintings of iconic coastal scenes.
The “Artists Paint OC” event is an annual art competition now in its 18th year. For five days, 50 artists compete for the top prizes of cash and prestige as they spread out across the area to paint famous vistas. These “plein air” artists are professionals; many are award winners in multiple competitions.
There are two opportunities to buy the original art. The public is invited to the “Wet Paint Sales” on Saturday, Aug. 12, from 5-7 p.m. and on Sunday, Aug. 13, from 1-3 p.m. Both sales are held at the waterfront Ocean City Center for the Arts, 502 94th St. bayside, and both are free to attend. Every painting is one-of-a-kind and ready to hang.
“If you’re looking for a permanent and unique memory of your time in Ocean City, this is an opportunity to find a treasure no one else but you will have,” Rina Thaler, executive director of the Art League, said. “This event only happens once a year, and our Arts Center is the only place you’ll find literally hundreds of original paintings to choose from.”
The “Wet Paint Sales” at the Arts Center are a chance to mix and mingle with the artists, and enjoy light refreshments, live music, and a cash bar. The juror for this year’s Artists Paint OC event is Laura Era, owner of Easton’s Troika Gallery and an award-winning painter herself. Era will jury the artwork and award the cash prizes to the winning artists. She has donated a custom-painted portrait for a raffle to benefit the nonprofit Art League. Raffle tickets are available at the Arts Center anytime as well as during the Wet Paint Sales.
A new addition to this year’s festival is the “Kids Paint OC” plein air competition. Youth ages 6 to 17 painted outdoors during the month of July, and their art will be on exhibit at the Arts Center on Sunday, Aug. 13, from 12-3 p.m. Judges Tamara Mills, David Simpson, and Sarah Hancock will select the winners and award $500 in cash prizes sponsored by the Worcester County Arts Council.
The easiest time and place to watch the artists paint is on the Boardwalk on Sunday morning, when they’re concentrated in the immediate area near South Division St. The artists will be wearing grey shirts and have handouts available. In two hours, from 9-11 a.m., the artists race to complete a painting of an iconic Boardwalk scene, frame it, and run it to the Arts Center on 94th Street. Era will judge the paintings, with cash prizes awarded by the Ocean City Development Corp. The art goes up for sale to the public at 1 p.m., while the paint is still wet.
The Artists Paint OC Festival awards $6,500 in cash prizes to the plein air artists.