Door County Plein Air Festival
Art, out in the open.
The Midwest’s Premier Outdoor Painting Event
Events: July 20-26, 2025
Online Exhibition & Sale: July 27-Aug 10, 2025
Plein air — the act of painting outdoors. It’s long been a tradition in Door County, beginning with the early artist colonies established on the peninsula in the early 1920s by professors from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. They heard of Door County’s natural beauty and knew it would be the perfect place for a summer art school.
Little evidence of those initial art communities still remain. What has endured is the desire to experience painting and drawing, capturing the landscape and the incredible coastal vistas. That’s why each July, PenArt brings together over 30 of the finest painters in the country — each with their own painting styles and unique perspectives — to honor the tradition of outdoor painting through the week-long Door County Plein Air Festival created by Peninsula School of Art.
Driving through the peninsula, you’ll see these painters peppered along the Door County landscape with their easels, paints, and canvas — capturing how the summer light frames and enhances the fields, coastlines, and the little-known, untouched corners of the peninsula.
However, the Door County Plein Air Festival is far from a one-sided art experience. Watch as the artists paint at our peninsula’s iconic locations. Take in a lecture with prestigious artists and art collectors. Get a front row seat to the fast-paced magic that is the Quick Paint competition, where our invited artists complete a painting from start to finish in record time on the streets and shoreline of Fish Creek. Kids can join in the excitement as well with their own Quick Paint—just stop in at PenArt for a grab-and-go art kit.
Meet the 2024 Invited Artists
The Door County Plein Air Festival is an invitational event — our invitations committee selects between 30 to 36 painters from across the United States to participate each year. We look for a wide variety of artists whose styles represent the breadth and scope of contemporary plein air painting. Learn more about the artist selection process here.
See all of the 2024 invited artists with links to their websites here.
Check out the 2024 Award Winners
Best in Show - Mat Barber Kennedy, "Four Point Eight and Nine Over Ten"
First Place - Shelby Keefe, "Hillside Dairy Farm"
Second Place - Cynthia Rosen, "The Windless"
Third Place - Carla Bosch, "Colorful Surprise"
Honorable Mention - Antwan Tamar, "Painted en Plein Derry-Aire"
Honorable Mention - Mary Monk, "Edgewood Garden"
Artist's Choice (Entire Body of Work) - Marc Anderson, "Beach Babes"
Frequently Asked Questions
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The first opportunity to purchase a painting is during the Small Works show on Sunday, July 21. These are works painted by the Festival’s Featured Artists and created outside of the Festival.
The Collector’s Preview on Friday, July 26 is the first opportunity to purchase works created during the Festival. This event is open to ticketed Palette Pass holders only. No other sales will be processed throughout the week or on Friday evening.
The public opening reception is on Saturday, July 27 from 11am-4pm. All remaining works created during the Festival are available for viewing online and purchase at this time.
Beginning Sunday July 28, artworks are only available to view and purchase online.
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No. There are many free ways to see the paintings online and in-person.
The artists Small Works, (small paintings created outside of the Festival), will be available for online viewing prior to the Festival and are available for purchase on Sunday, July 21 only.
Paintings created during the Festival will be available for online viewing beginning Monday, July 22 and for purchase to Palette Pass ticket holders beginning Friday, July 26, to the general public (no ticket required) on Saturday, July 27th, or online for purchase beginning July 28. See link below.
A selection of works will be on view in Peninsula School of Art’s Guenzel Gallery beginning Tuesday, July 23 through Thursday, July 25. The gallery is free and open to the public.
The campus and gallery will be closed to the public Friday, July 26, (ticketed patrons only that evening), and will reopen to the public on Saturday, July 27 at 11am for our Open Door Celebration.
All works created during the week will be available for viewing and purchase. Note: Any works purchased Friday evening by Palette Pass holders will not be on display, but all winning paintings will remain in the gallery.
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All events are free and open to the public, except those specifically listed as Palette Pass exclusives. The lecture with the festival judge is included in the palette pass, but separate tickets are available to that particular event.
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No. We understand you may not be able to attend all events during the week, but your Palette Pass is in your name, and only named Palette Pass holders will be able to attend ticketed events or purchase paintings during the Collector’s Preview.
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All paintings are viewable on our website.
Any paintings that have been sold on Friday evening will be marked as sold before the gallery opens on Saturday at 11 am.
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The Door County Plein Air Festival is an invitational event — our invitations committee selects between 30 to 35 painters from across the United States to participate each year. We look for a wide variety of artists whose styles represent the breadth and scope of contemporary plein air painting. Learn more about the artist selection process here.