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Health & Fitness

Plein Air Contest Colors Ozaukee

The annual painting contest draws artists to Ozaukee County to take advantage of picturesque views and friendly people.

I can always tell when the annual "Plein Air" (painting in open air) Painting Contest is happening based on the sudden emergence of easels. I etch the dates into my calendar nearly a year in advance, as soon as the Cedarburg Cultural Center releases the dates, because it is one of my favorite times to enjoy our culture and showcase Ozaukee’s art scene to out-of-town guests.

But instead of writing about my experience watching, I was fortunate to find a woman repositioning the easel that propped up her colorfully expressionist painting of the Farmers Market across the street.  The artist, who happened to be Bonnie Paruch, willingly sacrificed several minutes of painting to give me the inside artist scoop.

Paruch lives in Door County, where she manages her studio and teaches at the Peninsula School of Art.  She told me that many of the artists travel several hours for the contest, often staying in Ozaukee hotels for the two week duration. Because she must be back at her studio, Paruch is putting all her time and heart into painting on a crunched timeline.

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"It’s been a good show for me," she said. " Cedarburg Artist Guild volunteers work hard and put on a nice, organized event that is gentle on the artists and has well funded awards."

Paruch explained that the contest has casual pacing, and friendly residents and picturesque scenes for painting make it an enjoyable event that she looks forward to.

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In addition to painting the Farmers Market, Paruch was one of 50 artists who captured the beauty of Riveredge Nature Center with a paintbrush.  The artists braved Wednesday’s downpour to finish their canvases.

“Riveredge is so close and has the rural heritage and quality. I painted in the rain until my palette filled with rain water. The painting had such a great feel being created in the rain."

The influence of this unexpected natural element was so positive that her Riveredge painting is one she submitted for judging.

Artists will be bustling around the county with easels through next week, at which point paintings will be submitted for judging. The paintings will be featured at the Cedarburg Cultural Center’s Plein Air exhibit and available for purchase.

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