The 6th Art in the Open festival will be Europe's largest annual plein air painting event. Over 120 artists from more than 12 countries will take part. Each day they will visit a different venue setting up their easels, squeezing colours onto palettes in a celebration of the landscape of the sunny South East, from ancient castles to sleepy villages, rolling countryside to rolling surf, shady riverbank to busy market square.
For artists, there are workshops and master classes to improve your skills and inspire, and there are evening life-drawing sessions, talks and tours, painting by moonlight and music, good food and fun. The public can meet the artists and view the creative process from start to finish right in their own locality, appreciating the different styles of painting on view. For collectors and art lovers the freshly painted finished works will be exhibited in Wexford's impressive Greenacres Gallery opening with an award ceremony on Monday, 6 August.
A quick-draw event, children's art workshops, music, poetry and street theatre complete the festive atmosphere. In 2013 the Art in the Open artists will visit Carne Beach, Tomsallagh (Ferns), Ballyhack Harbour, Newtownbarry House (Bunclody), Hook Head, Enniscorthy, Wexford.Town and Screen Village. As the festival closes there will be specialist 3-day art master classes by American artists Margaret Dyer and Ned Mueller.
