If you love art and enjoy watching the creative process unfold….if you enjoy spending time in charming, historic Chestertown, MD and the surrounding Kent County countryside ….and if you love being outdoors in the spring, then be sure to come to RiverArts Seventh Annual Paint the Town, a four-day plein air festival scheduled from April 28-May 1.
Artists paint the local scene for three days and make their paintings available for sale at the Wet Paint Reception and Sale on Saturday, April 30, from 5:30pm-8:00pm, at the RiverArts Gallery, 315 High Street. On Sunday, there is a two-hour Quick Draw; these paintings are then shown in Fountain Park from 11:00am-12:00pm. These works are also for sale and the public gets to vote for the “People’s Choice Award.” In addition, Mary Pritchard, founder of Paint the Town, and award-winning pastel artist, will judge these paintings for first, second and third place awards.
Mary received a B.A. in Studio Art from Mount Holyoke College and has Master’s Degrees in both art and journalism. She has served as a curator for corporate collections, advising clients on acquisition, installation and conservation of art. Following a career in education administration at the University of Delaware she returned to painting full-time. In recent years she has painted landscapes from California to Nova Scotia. But her favorite subject-matter is within a few miles of her home in Chestertown in the small towns, family farms, tidewater rivers and marshes of the Eastern Shore.
Clearly developing a reputation to be proud of, Chestertown RiverArts’ Paint the Town has filled 50 allotted slots, while holding a notable waiting list of other accomplished artists. Almost all the featured artists are from out of town, from Washington, D.C. to New York City, and many are new this year. The artists love coming here and their hosts and the public love having them.
Alison Menke who won “Best in Show” last year, will be returning for the third time. She considers plein air painting challenging. “You have to paint quickly to capture moving light. I love the outdoors and find the spontaneity of something catching my eye very inspiring. I seldom know what I’m going to paint until I see it.”
Ray Ewing, who won “Best Body of Work” last year, is also returning. Ray enjoys painting in Chestertown because it offers a wide variety of places to paint within a comfortable walking or driving area. “Fields and farms are on every turn in the road. Nautical views, both open water and quiet lagoons make for great compositions. Boat yards, train tracks, downtown and side streets add to the painting menu.”
The public also loves this plein air event. They love going through town and seeing the easels set up on the sidewalks or out in the fields, capturing so many different views of Kent County as depicted by each artist. Local enthusiasts enjoy seeing how the artists look at Chestertown with a fresh eye, seeing light they see everyday in a fresh way.
Visitors might want to stay around in Fountain Park on May 1. Just after the Quick Draw, the “Tenth Annual Taste of the Town” (www.tasteofchestertown.com) will open at noon and run until 3:00pm. In addition to a broad range of dishes there will be local beers and wines. In the Demo booth, chefs will create dishes from a mystery basket of local foods.
To learn more about “Paint the Town” and other RiverArts shows and events, go to www.chestertownriverarts.org or call 410-778-6300. For lodging and dining information go to www.kentcounty.com.
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