STE GENEVIEVE – The competition was too great for the $3,400 in prize money to give in to the weather as the remnants of Hurricane Helene dumped more than two inches of rain on the area.
Art happens here, rain or shine.
Like their painting styles, each artist handled the challenge differently.
Craig Thomas of Cape Girardeau (at right) used his car for shelter, while Tracy Parkhurst of St. Louis (at left) dressed for wet.
Competitors came from around Missouri and Illinois and as far away as Florida to do their very best work for the Sainte Genevieve Art Guild’s 20th Annual Plein Air Competition this past weekend.
Pictured are two of the several artists who portrayed one of Vern Bauman’s antique tractors for a $400 purchase award.
This year’s purchase award sponsors were Bill Naeger who honored his wife with the Patti Naeger Memorial Award, Bob Uding who honored his wife with the Dorothy Uding Memorial Award, Carl Kinsky and Susie Johnson who chose the theme of Faded Glory, and Brock Gibson who drew attention to Audubon’s Grill & Bar. Brock was also the major sponsor for the event via Danny’s Sports Tavern. Additional funding was provided by a grant from the Ste. Genevieve County Community Foundation.
Those who came to vote for their favorite newly-created painting at the Saturday evening reception at the Sainte Genevieve Art Center & Art Museum had some difficulty picking from dozens of beautiful works – large and small, watercolor, pastel, oil and acrylic. Winners of the dozen different prizes and awards are posted on the Art Guild website, www.artstegen.org.
Plein Air artists began coming here in the 1930s and formed an art colony. That legacy endures. The winner of the $600 Best of Show prize, Mike McClure of Willow Springs (seen in photo above), said: “What draws me to Ste. Genevieve year after year are two things – the geniality of its people and the energy of the place – it just inspires me.”