Maybe it’s the $20,000 in prize money for the winners. Maybe it’s the packed week of public events, the opportunity to see a future master artist at work, or maybe it’s the opportunity to purchase a one-of-a-kind watercolor or oil painting that captures Cape Ann’s natural beauty.
But starting Saturday, October 5, artists from places as close as Gloucester, Rockport and Ipswich and as far away as California, England and Nova Scotia will descend onto Cape Ann for a week-long outdoor painting event. The 35 juried artists will paint all over the Greater Cape Ann communities—Essex, Gloucester, Ipswich, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and, of course, Rockport—creating paintings in spectacular locations. Five of the selected artists are based on Greater Cape Ann.
Now in its eighth year, Cape Ann Plein Air (“CAPA”) has become a nationally acclaimed public art festival by focusing on Cape Ann’s unique place as the birthplace of American plein air painting. When it began, not many people appreciated what plein air painting was all about—the idea of capturing a scene in the moment, outside a studio without help of extra tools or photographs or an indoor setting. In fact, there are some 40+ regional plein air festivals across the US, and CAPA now ranks, depending on who you talk to, fourth or fifth in the nation.
The festival runs Saturday October 5 through Thursday, October 10, and residents will see familiar CAPA programs on the schedule, like the opening night party at the Beauport Hotel or free daily demos at hallmark spots around Cape Ann including the Essex Shipbuilding Museum, Tuck’s Point, and Maritime Gloucester.
Spectators will be able to find the artists on the rocky shores, sandy beaches, on the water and on the backroads of the five communities from. The daily demos give aspiring artists a chance to learn from a local, seasoned professional. In the evenings, different local restaurants will host one of the CAPA artists to give diners the experience of watching a work of art being created. (Called “Palate to Palette,” a series that has become so popular that organizers have continued it all year long at area restaurants.)
This year, some CAPA Week events have been kicked into a higher gear. There’s an expanded program of hands-on free youth art events hosted by Gloucester’s ArtHaven. Also this year, the Collectors’ Preview Party planned for the North Shore Art Association will close the week instead of the formal “gala” of previous years. The Collectors’ Preview Party is a ticketed event on Friday, October 11th at 6 p.m., at the venerable North Shore Arts Association (NSAA) in historic East Gloucester. There the artists will
showcase their hard work, with over 280 paintings up for top prizes and available for purchase. It’s a lively event with music by John Jerome and a delicious spread prepared by Vinwood Caterers.
On Saturday, October 12 morning there’s the wildly popular Quick Draw in downtown Manchester, where the 35 CAPA artists will be joined by another 100 local artists to complete a painting in just two hours, and then have the paintings judged for prizes and offered for sale. This event is free to the public. The gallery will be also open all day at North Shore Arts Association.
On Sunday October 13th the sale will continue at NSAA until 3 p.m. with the Events Judge Lori Putnam offering her process of choosing top winners and awards during a Gallery Walk and Talk at 10 a.m. Also new this year is an Artist Roundtable hosted by online juror Charlie Hunter and featuring CAPA 2024 artists at noon. And a pop-up sale of Tiny Gems: Small Painting Sunday will round out the week.
Cape Ann Plein Air officially kicks off on Saturday, Oct. 5. Information and schedule are available at capeannpleinair.org.
