A Festival one of its kind, for it’s three perspectives.
Scroll Down
PLEIN AIR
Plein air painting is painting live, outdoors on location.
Plein air painters can paint in any medium and are not restricted to a particular style. Plein air paintings are usually made in just a few hours in order to capture the light before it changes, making this art particularly evocative of a specific sense of place, time, and emotion at the moment of creation.
The plein air movement has had several phases dating back to 19th century France and the advent of the paint tube, allowing paint to be stable and portable. In the United States, early plein air painting centered on the Hudson Valley and later in California. In recent years, the movement has spread from California across the United States, Canada, Europe, and to Curaçao.
PLEIN EAU
Painting underwater obviously has its challenges. Artists generally have less than an hour to complete a piece. Divers must be careful not to stir up the sand and sediment on the ocean floor, which would obscure the scene. Artists have to be particularly mindful of the potential impact of their presence and activity. The paint is used straight from the tubes and choice of colors is limited. Color perception is different underwater -- bright red may become a dull brown or black. Palette knives and fingers are used instead of brushes. The canvas must be covered with a waterproof adhesive coating. The canvas is washed thoroughly with fresh water after completion.
The clear azure-blue waters surrounding the island of Curaçao with the colorful marine life are perfect for painting underwater. Plein Eau Artists in Curaçao typically dive to depths of 2 - 20 ft.
PLEIN AERIAL
In 2017 (the 4th edition of Plein Air Curacao Festival) we introduced " Plein Aerial ". Besides painting on land and underwater, painting sessions from high locations were included to the program.
Participating artists visited the Table mountain as a Plein Aerial paint out location where they had a unique view on the Spanish water, Santa Barbara resort, Caracasbaai and Jan Thiel.
Another Plein Aerial location is the Juliana bridge. This bridge is almost 60 meters high and has a spectacular 360-degree view of Punda, Otrabanda and the refinery.
For the extreme hikers and adventurous plein aerial artists among us, we invited artists to the highest point of Curacao, The Christoffel Mountain, which is 372 metres (1,220 ft) high and lies in the national park: Christoffelpark.
Buy plein air paintings
Fresh of the easel.
Visit our webstore to check out original paintings of the beauty of Curaçao, its people, rich culture, and stunning architecture all in one place. The paintings are made on location by local and international artists, and are the perfect souvenir for your home.
The beautiful island of Curaçao gave me so much inspiration I did close to 20 paintings during my short stay.
Having been a buddy since the beginning of the Plein Air festival and also a local participating artist for the last two events I have seen the development of the festival from a startup activity to a professionally run event. The festival has grown in such a way that it has impressed me.
This year’s event was very positive for me because of the work and cooperation of the people organizing and running the different aspects.
El proyecto es muy vérsatil, es inclusivo y permite la interacción, a mi me gustó mucho su dinámica.
Niet de meest makkelijke plek om te schilderen,maar een ongelooflijke ervaring. Dit is een geweldig product voor de experiential tourism voor Curaçao en voorlopig is Curaçao met de Plein Eau concept een van de pioniers in de wereld.
arthur oster
curacao
The plein air workshops were eyeopeners for me. A few simple tricks that I learned made me work quicker and much more accurately.
I am so touched by the hospitality I received from the Plein Air Curacao staff, my host family, and of course by all the new artists I met from all around the world. Extra plus- I sold 3/4 of all my paintings so I made my money back and more!!
QUICK - DRAW COMPETITION
The final event
of the Art Festival week is the Paint Out Competition
The competition is the culminating event of the Plein Air Curaçao festival and will take place in the Wilhelmina Park, Punda. Artists compete, in four different categories, in a 3-hour Quick Draw Paint-out. A panel of judges decide who the winners are. Besides the competition there will be a lot of things going on downtown to make it a full day of fun for everyone. There is a Kiddies Corner for kids, aged 4-12, to make their own painting, foods and drinks are for sale with various performances during the day.
The Downtown Management Organization (DMO) is an important partner of Plein Air Curaçao. DMO mobilizes the merchants in Punda to organize a street fair on the last day of the festival.
Activities include:
-
shopping with reduced prices and other offers;
-
food stands;
-
kids' areas with clowns, face painting, photo shoots, and kids' games;
-
many artisans display and sell their work while nonparticipating painters also display their paintings on the streets;
-
a motor show of classical and vintage cars (Wabi Club) and the bike club;
-
Moko Jumbies (stilts walkers and dancers) do their stunts;
-
different kinds of (live) music and dance groups make the streets of Punda vibrate with fun.
Winning Paintings
To register contact us at info@pleinaircuracao.com
Painters paint in 4 different categories shown below.
$550
local
paint-out artist
Aged 21+, participating in the Paint-Out
$1000
international paint-out artist
Aged 21+, participating in the Paint-Out
$150
teen/young adult
Aged between 13 - 21
$150
open category
Aged 21+, not participating in the Paint-Out
JURORS
OF 2023
We are honored to announce our jurors for Plein Air Competition 2023. Their combined expertise brings true value to the competition
