Dan Nichols, of Connecticut, paints the Broadway streetscape on the second day of the 14th Adirondack Plein Air Festival in 2022. Nichols was working on an abstract background for his work, with vivid colors and sharp lines. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

SARANAC LAKE — Four plein air events are scheduled around the region this summer where visitors and community members can see the Adirondacks through the eyes of painters from around the country.

The following are scheduled for the northern Adirondacks:

¯ July 15-19: Keeseville Plein Air, as part of the town’s Community Arts Festival

¯ Aug. 18-23: Adirondack Plein Air Festival in Saranac Lake

¯ Sept. 17-20: Salmon River Valley Plein Air Festival in Malone

¯ Sept. 30- Oct 5: Tupper Lake Plein Air Festival in Tupper Lake

“Plein air” is a French term for “painting outdoors in the open air.” Artists attending these festivals will take their paints and easels to outdoor locations and explore natural light and scenic views, wilderness or farmland, industrial or village locations, offering unlimited subject matter. Artists can do several paintings a day, resulting in a group show of hundreds of paintings. Large, small, oils, watercolor, acrylic, pastels, in a full range of subject matter, all uniquely Adirondack.

In 2009, Sandra Hildreth, a Saranac Lake painter and one of the founding members of Saranac Lake ArtWorks, decided to organize a plein air festival for the Adirondack region. The Adirondack Plein Air Festival started out with a few local artists who painted for two days and then hung a show of their work on a Sunday afternoon. Now, after 16 years, the event has a national reputation, a juried selection process, five days of painting, and awards over $5,000 in prizes. Ending the event is a show and sale in the Harrietstown Town Hall in Saranac Lake that regularly sends dozens of paintings on to new homes.

The Keeseville, Malone and Tupper Lake festivals were all modeled after the Saranac Lake event and attract artists who want to paint Adirondack landscapes, from the High Peaks to the foothills, from Lake Champlain to the AuSable River valleys.

These events are for artists, many of whom travel the country attending different festivals, as well as art collectors and spectators, and they bring visitors to the communities that host them. Spectators are welcome at all the plein air festivals, and most will have schedules or specific locations where the artists can be found.

The festivals may also have secondary events as part of their schedules: meet the artists receptions, silent auctions of donated works, nocturne paintings (done at night), and quick draw competitions.

For more information, visit saranaclakeartworks.org.