KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Get ready for a week of fantastic artists painting scenes in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Plein Air Smokies, a week-long outdoor art event, runs Sep. 21-28, 2024. It concludes in Downtown Knoxville with a weekend of artwork for sale to the public, a Friday night soiree, and a Saturday quick draw contest. Proceeds benefit Friends of the Smokies and help fund vital projects and services in the national park.
Artists Paint the Smokies
Twenty nationally acclaimed artists were chosen for the upcoming Plein Air Smokies to paint beautiful scenes throughout Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The list of artists chosen for 2024 are viewable at this link.
Starting Sep. 21, the artists will spend the week capturing scenes and landscapes throughout the park. The paintings created will be sold Sep. 27-28 in Downtown Knoxville.
Buying the Art
The first opportunity to view and buy the artwork will be at a ticketed soiree on the evening of Friday, Sep. 27, at Regas Square Events, 333 W Depot Avenue, in Knoxville. Tickets to the soiree are $150 and can be purchased online at this link.
Those with tickets to the Friday soiree get the first shot at buying artwork created by Plein Air Smokies artists. The sale continues with free public access to buy the paintings on Saturday, Sep. 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Regas Square Events.
Quick Draw
Saturday also brings fun to Downtown Knoxville with the Quick Draw competition and art sale. This event is open for any artist by registering for the Quick Draw for $30 at this link.
Starting at 9 a.m. on Sep. 28, Quick Draw artists will have two hours to create paintings in Downtown Knoxville. The paintings will be placed on the stage at Market Square from 11-11:30 a.m. Judging begins at 11:30 a.m. with prizes awarded at noon.
Quick Draw items will be available for the public to purchase until 1:00 p.m. when they must be removed from Market Square.
The Quick Draw winner in the open division will receive an invitation to be one of the 20 featured artists during next year’s Plein Air Smokies event.
New to Knoxville
This is the third year of Plein Air Smokies. This marks the first year Plein Air Smokies events will be hosted in Downtown Knoxville. The previous two years concluded with events in Maryville.
Updates and Sponsorship
Stay up to date at pleinairsmokies.org as well as the Plein Air Smokies pages on Facebook and Instagram.
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, email lauren@friendsofthesmokies.org.