The Wallkill River School is delighted to announce that the 4th annual Hudson Valley Plein Air Festival will be held on October 8 - 13. New York’s Hudson Valley is the ideal setting for plein air painting. The area is endowed with a rich history of art and has been a popular destination for many of America’s artists for over 150 years.

About the Festival

The Hudson Valley Plein Air Festival is organized by the Wallkill River School, a non-profit artists’ cooperative that runs an art school and fine art gallery.

The Hudson Valley Plein Air Festival is a juried exhibition open to all painters in all mediums. The festival will include artist awards and an opportunity to sell work created during the event to the public. Artists may paint at locations of their choosing within the Hudson Valley map provided. The festival will conclude with an exhibition and sale of paintings created during the festival.

Artist Awards

The Wallkill River School will announce the awards during the exhibition and art sale. Thanks to our generous sponsors, there will be at least $2,000 in awards.

Award categories (subject to change):

• 1st place

• 2nd place

• 3rd place

• Honorable Mention

• People’s Choice

• Best Audubon Site Painting

• Best Greenwood Lake Painting

• Best Goshen Painting

• Best Nocturne

Event Calendar (subject to change)

July 1: Entry Deadline

August 1: Jury notifications will be e-mailed to all artist applicants. A list of accepted artists will also be posted online at wallkillriverschool.com.

Tuesday, October 8th:

4:00 pm - 6:00 pm: Artist check in and canvas stamping at the Wallkill River School.

(If anyone has a conflict due to Yom Kippur they can make arrangements to check

in on Wednesday instead.)

Artists are free to paint after 4pm check in (map link).

Saturday, October 12th:

4:30 pm - 6:30 pm: Artwork drop off at Orange Hall Gallery at SUNY Orange in Middletown.

    Hanging of artwork. Venue restricted to WRS officials.

Sunday, October 13th:

TBD Quick Draw in Monroe in the morning

1:30 - 3:00 pm: Preview party for artists, hosts, supporters, prize donors, special guests.

3:00 - 5:00 pm: Public Show and Sale. Artists will host their display area.

Approximately Tuesday, Nov 25th:

3:30 - 5:00 pm: Artwork pick up.

Entry Process

• Entry application will be through www.callforentry.org

• All entries must be submitted by July 1, 2019.

• Three jurors, will review applications and the Wallkill River School will invite 30 selected artists to participate.

• If you attended the 2018 Hudson Valley Plein Air Festival, and won an award, you are automatically guaranteed a spot in this year’s festival if you apply online before July 1st.

• For a non-refundable fee of $45, applicants must submit three digital images of their work and an artist bio.

• All images must be of original “plein air” artwork, created by the applicant artist within the past two years.

• Notification of selected artists will be e-mailed to each applicant no later than August 1.

Artist Housing

The last 3 years we were able to house 100% of our out of town artists at host housing. We hope to do the same this year.

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria