Artist Kari Ruiz poses with her painting in 2020, when she won the first place prize. She is returning to compete in the 2023 event. (Provided photo — Saranac Lake ArtWorks)

SARANAC LAKE — From Texas to Illinois and Maryland to Maine, 40 artists are packing up their paints and canvases and will head to the Adirondacks for a week of painting. The 15th annual Adirondack Plein Air Festival will start on Monday and culminate with the Show & Sale on Saturday, Aug. 19 at the Harrietstown Town Hall in Saranac Lake.

Started in 2009 by Saranac Lake ArtWorks member Sandra Hildreth, this event has grown from an opportunity for local artists to get together and paint outdoors into a nationally recognized painting experience that often attracts nearly 100 applications.

Part of the attraction of plein air paintings, for art collectors, is that the artists record what just happened in the world around them. If it’s a rainy day, they will convey the grey and overcast landscape; hot and hazy, the mountains will be blue and pale in the distance. There is no reliance upon photographs, nor do plein air painters have the luxury of working for days, or weeks, in their studio. All their painting skills, knowledge and experience get tightly wrapped up into a time frame that’s often just four to five hours. That immediacy is the main attraction of plein air painting.

The artists will be scattered throughout the local area painting the town, parks and scenic landscapes. The public Show & Sale on Saturday lasts from noon to 5 p.m. Proceeds benefit the participating artists and the local arts community.

Saranac Lake ArtWorks, established in 2008 and incorporated as a nonprofit in 2020, has a mission of using the arts to promote Saranac Lake and the surrounding community and bring cultural consumers to Adirondack artists.

Visitors are also invited to attend a free “Meet the Artists” opening night reception on Monday from 7 to 9. p.m. at the Hotel Saranac.

Spectators are also welcome at painting locations: the Paul Smiths VIC on Tuesday, the village of Saranac Lake on Thursday, Aug. 17 and at the Saranac Lake Fish and Game Club on Friday, Aug. 18. Maps and directions to other painting locations can be found at the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce office in the town hall, the Adirondack Artists Guild Gallery on Main Street and other village art venues.

All completed artwork will be ready for viewing Friday, Aug. 19 during a Special Preview Party scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. in the town hall, sponsored by Hyde Fuel and AdkAction. Tickets for this party are available for $20 each. Proceeds from this event go to support ArtWorks’ other events and programs, like Art Walks and Studio Tours. A percentage goes back to the artists as well.

Artists compete to paint during the Adirondack Plein Air Festival. Some return year after year. Last year’s first place winner, Thomas Adkins, is back again. Local ArtWorks members Nancy Brossard, Anne Diggory, Vera Doumanoff, Ann Haskell, Sandra Hildreth, Diane Leifheit and Susan Whiteman will compete as well. The first place award is a package of cash and prizes worth nearly $2,600. Second prize, the Founder’s Award, has a cash award of $1,000 plus art supplies donated by companies. Third prize, given by Jody and Mary Ann Hoyt in memory of Tom Boothe, and by Adirondack Health, has a cash value of $750. Additionally there are seven cash awards of $250 donated by community sponsors.

“We are successful because we have an amazing environment to share, and the hard work and support of members of ArtWorks, our local arts community, individual contributors like you and me, and our business community,” said Hildreth, president and co-founder of ArtWorks. “Each year hundreds of visitors get to interact with the artists as they paint in ‘plein air.’ Buyers can take these timeless images home with them. We hope that these spectacular landscapes of the Adirondacks captured on canvas will bring visitors back to the region for years to come.”

To purchase tickets, learn more about the artists and view a full schedule of events, visit saranaclakeartworks.org.