Paint Out Bryan, a two-day live painting event, is set to take place this weekend, April 12-13 in Downtown Bryan celebrating local artists as they create their views of Downtown Bryan live.
“They bring their own materials and their certain kind of setup,” says Visual Arts Society publicity chair Mindy Austin. “Some people will just work standing with an easel and a palette. Some people are urban sketchers so they're going to just use paper and a pad and a pen. Watercolor too.”
The event is open for the community to experience the beauty of live, plein air painting.
Participating artists can choose to set up and paint in any location outlined by a map of Downtown Bryan. On April 12, the event will begin at The Frame Gallery, where participants will sign in, pick up their map, goodie bag and lanyard.
At 5:15 p.m., highly-esteemed artist Benjamin Knox, known for painting Aggieland landscapes, will begin a live painting demo in front of the Queen Theater, with a reception to follow from 6-8 p.m. at the Frame Gallery.
On Saturday, artists may continue to paint and encourage others to vote for their artwork for a chance to win cash prizes from five “best in” categories.
“We're doing a People's Choice award, and the artists will have these little tags that say ‘vote for me,’” Mindy says. “They'll choose the painting they like and write the name and turn it in at the tent. The other prizes are Best of Show, first runner up, best still life and best street scene. We're gonna set up a Western still life for the artist to paint if they want to.”
Artists wishing to partake in painting scenes of Downtown Bryan must complete online registration by April 10.
Paint Out Bryan is hosted by the Visual Arts Society, the Downtown Bryan Street and Art Fair and Destination Bryan.
“[The Visual Arts Society’s] main goal is to support artists and raise money to give to high school students pursuing an art field degree," Mindy says. “We also support artists in all their learning by giving scholarships, workshops and marketing.”
For more information on Paint Out Bryan and registration, visit visualartssociety.org.
