Sedona Arts Center is putting on its fifth annual Plein Air Festival beginning Saturday, Oct. 24, through Sunday, Nov. 1.

According to Robert Myers, executive director of the Sedona Arts Center, the Sedona Plein Air Festival brings thousands of local people and visitors to Sedona for one of the premier educational and artistic events in Sedona and the entire Southwest.

“It puts our community on the map as an arts destination, and raises awareness of this great community and its artistic traditions,” Myers said. “The festival provides visibility for talented and award-winning artists from all around the U.S. providing our local community with a wide array of exposure to diverse styles and artistic visions of our home environment. It is a multi-day event that has the power to draw the community together for a common purpose, that of enjoying and learning about art.”

Myers believes the festival gives artists a chance to show off their skills.

“It is their ability to capture an outdoor moment in time, from their own cultural artistic perspective and vision,” Myers said. “The contrasts and similarities and their interpretation of Sedona’s landscape differs according to their own interpretation, cultural experience, style and ability, and to some degree how the artist views the world.”

Many people consider Sedona one of the most beautiful places in America, but Myers thinks the city has other attributes as well, all of which make it a desirable plein air destination.

“Beautiful scenery, historic surrounds, welcoming and friendly people, supportive staff and board of directors, terrific exposure from our local media, and generous sponsors, especially L’Auberge which makes the festival’s culminating gala event so sumptuous,” Myers said. “In summary, it is the combination of unique elements Sedona has to offer that people from around the world can get nowhere else.”

According to Nancy Wilson, development director for the center, 32 award-winning artists have accepted invitations to participate.

“The festival is an homage to the spirit and innovation of the great French impressionists whose paintings were based on the belief that you could “trust your eyes” to capture the beauty that surrounds you,” Wilson said. “As with the old masters, contemporary plein-air artists paint from life in the out-of-doors, capturing moments in time that reflect the ever-changing colors, light and shadows, temperature and shifting elements.”

In addition to the Paint Out on Main Street on Saturday, Oct. 24, there will be a reception and artists’ showcase on Monday, Oct. 26, from 6 to 8 p.m.

There is also a series of lectures and demonstrations taking place Monday through Thursday, Oct. 26 through 29.

Two of the artists who are giving presentations are Michael Chesley Johnson and Clark Mitchell, discussing oils and pastels, respectively.

Johnson is primarily self-instructed, studying under master artists such as Albert Handell, Doug Dawson, Bob Rohm, Ann Templeton and Ray Roberts.

He teaches throughout North America and conducts intensive workshops at Friar’s Bay Studio Gallery on Campobello Island in the Canadian Maritimes.

He is also the author of “Backpacker Painting: Outdoors with Pastel & Oil,” and writes regularly for The Pastel Journal, The Artist’s Magazine and Watercolor Artist.

“I’ll be doing an outdoor oil painting demonstration,” Johnson said. “In it, I’ll show the equipment I use for painting in oil outdoors, including my paintbox, tripod, brushes, palette and special gear such as umbrellas, wet panel carriers and so forth. In addition, I’ll show the technique I use most often outdoors, which involves starting with a transparent underpainting, massing in the large shapes, then applying more opaque point and working with smaller and smaller shapes until I reach the desired finish.”

Mitchell is returning to the competition for the fourth time.

“Though I’m no longer stunned into inaction by the unique grandeur and color of Sedona, there’s always room for further refinement,” Mitchell said. “Each year I add a few new reds and oranges to my box of pastels to better capture the scenery. I’m learning to trust my intuition and color sense more and to rely less on simply copying nature. This is resulting in richer, more vibrant paintings with more personality.”

One of the paintings Mitchell created at Red Rock Crossing for last year’s workshop students was chosen as the cover of the February 2009 issue of Southwest Art magazine.

This year, he’ll be demonstrating technique.

“I hope to dazzle those watching with how easily an artist can depict the Red Rock Country starting with a rich underpainting in pastels,” Mitchell said. “I then go on to delicately apply layer upon layer of pigment on rough sanded paper.”

Susan Johnson can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 129, or e-mail sjohnson@larsonnewspapers.com