PHOTOS COURTESY OF CARMEN’S GALLERY
Solomons, MD – Calvert County’s legendary town of Solomons has become famous for drawing huge crowds. The events range from rock concerts, outdoor bar openings, fireworks shows, parades and speedboat races. A less intense and frenzied occurrence is expected to prove popular during several days in the middle of September.
The 2015 Solomons Plein Air Festival is planned for Sept. 15 through 20. Several nationally recognized artists will be arriving on the island to create their works “in the open air.”
The event is being hosted by Carmen’s Gallery. Gallery owner Carmen Gambrill recalled that about 25 years ago she hosted an event called “Carmen Paints the Town.” She originated the event in hopes that visitors would take notice of her gallery. “I’m going to let them know that art is important,” was her mission, Gambrill recalled. The original painting event has been revived and, with the aid of the Solomons Business Association (SBA) has been reincarnated as the Solomons Plein Air Festival.
“It was a process,” said Gambrill of the event’s evolvement. “It’s landed very well.”
Plein air festivals are now being held all across America. “Ours isn’t the biggest but some of the best artists come here,” said Gambrill, who added the Solomons plein air event is one of the foremost of its kind on the East Coast.
Juried artists from 11 states and Washington, DC will be painting scenes in various areas of Calvert County Wednesday, Sept. 16 and in Solomons during the next two days. Visitors are encouraged to watch, learn and enjoy as the renderings are made.
Special festival segments include the “Affaire of the Arts Saturday, Sept. 19 from 6 to 9 p.m. Cost of admission to the festive affair is $25 and includes a cash bar, live music by the Latin ensemble Ritmo Cache and light hors d’ oeuvres served. The competition artists will be in attendance at the affair.
Other segments include “Paint the Town for a Cause” where aspiring painters of all ages may participate along with the competition artists. The painting will be held on the Riverwalk Saturday, Sept. 19 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Registration is free and proceeds from paintings that are sold will be divided evenly between the selling artist and HeartFELT, a volunteer program coordinated by Solomons United Methodist Church. HeartFELT—FELT stands for Feeding Empty Little Tummies—sends home backpacks of food on the weekends to local schoolchildren in need.
Another popular segment is the Sunset Quick Draw Competition, which will be held Thursday, Sept. 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. in Solomons. “The gun goes off and they [competitive artists] paint for two hours,” said Gambrill. “Two hours later the gun goes off again and they stop. They are judged. There’s some pressure there.” Gambrill recalled the painters under pressure rendered some amazing nocturnal paintings at last year’s festival.
According to Gambrill, the artists, who begin submitting applications for participation as early as February, “are sort of a family. They travel in a circuit. They are very supportive of each other. It’s a friendly but serious competition.”
Why does Solomons work so well as a plein air festival venue? “We have beautiful things to paint,” Gambrills opined. “We have nice people, a flow of good energy and hospitality. We try to make it fun.”
In addition to generating fun, Gambrill and the festival committee also hope to generate dollars to reward the artists deemed the best and to aid the causes they have chosen to support in 2015.
The judge for this year’s event is Hiu Lai Chong, a much celebrated and well-traveled artist.
The entities benefitting from Solomons Plein Air Festival are SBA’s July Fourth Fireworks in Solomons, College of Southern Maryland (art scholarship), Patuxent Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), Sophia’s Oasis for Equines, HeartFELT and the Orphaned Wildlife Rescue Center in Lusby.
The 2015 Solomons Plein Air Festival is presented by Avian Engineering LLC. Its sponsors include Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, Team Hyundai in St. Mary’s County, Dominion, PNC, SBA, Holiday Inn Solomons, Calvert Marina, Calvert County Department of Economic Development, Bill and Cindy Chambers, Robert Mondovi Winery and many individual contributors.
Visit the event web site for more information www.solomonspleinair.com
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com