Plein Air Litchfield
Practice Sessions Year Round
Expanded Days
$8500 in Prizes
A prestigious art event that turns Litchfield into a living Atelier,
featuring juried artists capturing the town's timeless essence.
Selected Competing Artists
In 2024, Plein Air Litchfield's inaugural event, we invited 24 competing artists from 5 states - MA, PA, MD, NY, and CT. In two days and a night, 75 paintings were produced and hung. During the ticketed reception held at Milton Hall,15 paintings sold in less than 2 hours with a total of $10,000 in sales. Awards totaled $2500, provided by generous donors.
In 2025, we tripled our sales of art in the Gala held in the Historic Firehouse of the Belden House and Mews. We hosted 34 artists from 17 different states, many of them National Award winners.
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Competition Days
For 2025, the event is expanding to more than 5 days next year. Exact dates have not been chosen yet, while early fall is our target.
Artists will compete for $8500 in awards
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Artist: Rick Daskam
In a Nutshell
Plein Air Litchfield 2026
Dates: TBD
Applications: Open in February 2026
Sponsoring Organization: Art Tripping, 501c-3
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Format: Multiple Day Event, Juried Show,
Ticketed Reception
Optional Quick Paint $15 Registration Fee
Judge of Awards: TBD
Quick Paint Prize Total: $1000
Contact: Michele Murelli, (203) 515-9337 pleinairlitchfield@gmail.com
Meet Eric Forstmann, Judge of Awards, 2025
Eric Forstmann studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston under the tutelage of Barnett Rubenstein and Henry Schwartz. In addition to his many solo exhibitions, he has had five one-man shows at the following institutions: The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio; The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Missouri; The Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science in Evansville, Indiana; and the Mattatuck Museum of Waterbury, Connecticut. He was also featured at the Norman Rockwell Museum in the exhibition Rockwell and Realism in an Abstract World. His work has been featured in Architectural Digest, American Art Collector, Art News and many other publications through the years.
Litchfield Magazine named him as one of the "25 Most Influential People" in Litchfield County, Connecticut. The artist lives in Sharon, CT and works in Torrington, CT where he serves as president of the board of directors of 5 Points Art Center. He is currently represented by Eckert Fine Art in Washington Depot, CT.
OPEN QUICK PAINT
Registration/Stamping
Tapping Reeve Meadow
Quick Paint --Open to Any Artist
(18 and older) and registered
Competition Artists. .
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On Sunday morning, October 5th, PAL held a 3-hour community wide "Quick Paint" event open to artists at all levels with additional prizes.
Registration/Canvas Stamping took place at the Tapping Reeve Meadow at 82 South Street from 8:00 a.m to 9:00 a.m. $15 registration fee for non competition artists.
Quick Paint artists began painting anywhere in Litchfield at 9:00 a.m. and stopped at 12:00 p.m. and return to the Meadow no later than 12:30 p.m. Artists lined line up easels on the Meadow for judging and awards presentation by Eric Forstmann. PAL volunteers will be on hand to help with onsite sales. PAL retains 40% of all sales.
Freeman Dodsworth, White Memorial Bridge
CALENDAR
2/26 -- Application Period opens on ShowSubmit.com
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4/30/26– Selected Artists and
Alternates Announced
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Dates TBD Competition Artist Paint in and around Litchfield
TBD -- Ticketed Gala Show/Reception
TBD -- Optional Quick Paint open to Competition Artists and Community artists, Tapping Reeve Meadow 8:00 a.m. $15
