Twenty-three professional plein air artists from Arizona and across the country, descended upon Sedona from October 23rd through the 30th in a highly successful, event-filled Festival. Hundreds of people attended thirteen events over the eight days of the Festival. We sold 77 paintings totaling over $52,000 in sales with almost 70% of them purchased by people from outside of Sedona.

Those are the numbers. We count SPAF 17 as a success!

But what I really took away from this year’s Festival was so much more. I made about twenty new friends. I learned what artists like to do at Plein Air festivals – and what they don’t. I found out about perspective and focal point and tone – and how they all come together to make the best paintings. And I had great fun all the while.

I loved watching the artists create paintings from beginning to end and then seeing which ones the judges picked to win awards. Our judges this year were Robert Goldman, Linda Goldenstein and Michele Usibelli. We distributed over $13,000 in cash prizes and another couple thousand in inkind gifts. It was extremely emotional seeing how grateful and supportive to each other, the artists were when they won. They were all so humble and overwhelmed that their work had been recognized. It was a testament to their camaraderie and character.

Even better were some of the stories the artists told as well as experiencing the broad and varied styles and processes they used.

It was fascinating hearing about James McGrew’s backcountry explorations to find hidden cultural sites. His week here was about discovering the unexpected and then painting it. He had the scrapes and bruises from scrambling up and down rocks and slides to prove it.

Elizabeth St. Hilaire’s work involves paper painting – en plein air. I watched her create an entire piece which involves a drawing, an underpainting with acrylic and then hundreds of little torn pieces of paper (which she prints herself) glued over the top. She color matches her paper and puts it all in little cups that she has fashioned in to a traveling collage easel. It is really quite amazing. And beautiful.

And Hadley Rampton’s paintings that she coats in Liquin so they look about as delectable as a bowl of ice cream. And Bill Cramer who can whip out a masterpiece in about 45 minutes. And Michelle Held who captures light like an old master. And Betty Carr who has such skill that she takes what she sees and improves on it to create a composition like a virtuoso. And then there is Gretchen Lopez who brought a live model to most of the paint outs and then captured her so beautifully that she won Best of Show. I could go on.

Especially noteworthy were the dozens of volunteers who helped make all this possible. Without them, this event would not have happened. They went above and beyond and from what I could see they had a blast while doing it. They provided our catering, served as bartenders, hauled tables and chairs, worked in the exhibit galleries, directed parking and more. They are all special people and we are extremely grateful for them all.

Our sponsors were the backbone of the event, without which we would not have had the marketing to bring in the patrons or the awards to attract the artists.

And special kudos to L’Auberge de Sedona and the Sedona Heritage Museum for hosting paint outs. The artists really loved painting in both places and the support each site provided was exemplary.

And last, but certainly never least, I have to give huge praise for the Arts Center staff. They all pitched in above and beyond the call of duty to do whatever needed to be done to make the week a success. You rock!

We have some changes planned for next year to make the event even better – but for now, we are basking in this year’s success. At least for a little while.

Julie Richard

Sedona Arts Center CEO