The Shadows-on-the-Teche Plein Air Painting Competition will take place March 13-19, 2021. Visitors are invited to travel around the seven-parish area and watch artists paint en plein air. Other festivities planned during competition week are an art talk, painting demonstration, paint out, awards reception and fine art sale, and quick draw competition. All activities and events are free to attend and participate unless otherwise noted.
- Sat., March 13 at 3 p.m.: Quick Draw competition in downtown New Iberia where artists will have two hours to complete a painting.
- Tues., March 16 at 1 p.m.: Kenn Backhaus will lead a Plein Air Painting Demonstration at the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum.
- Wed., March 17 at 7:30 p.m.: Kenn Backhaus will lead a Plein Air Painting Talk at the Shadows Visitor Center.
- Thurs., March 18 at 2 p.m.: Kenn Backhaus will lead a Plein Air Painting Demonstration near the Shadows in downtown New Iberia.
- Fri., March 19 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.: Artists of all ages and skill levels are invited to participate in a Paint Out in Downtown New Iberia. Works produced at the Paint Out will be judged, awarded ribbons, and available for sale. Free to participate, but registration is required.
- Fri., March 19 at 6:30 p.m.: Shadows Plein Air culminates in an Awards Ceremony & Fine Art Sale at the Shadows Visitor Center. Awards announced at 7 p.m. All paintings completed during the week will be available for sale throughout the week at the Shadows Visitor Center and online.
About Shadows-on-the-Teche Plein Air:
The Shadows-on-the-Teche Plein Air competition debuted in 2015, introducing the community to painting en plein air. The tradition of “painting outside” is one explored by William Weeks Hall, the last private owner of the Shadows, who advertised for and taught painting classes in the gardens in the 1940s. In the seven-year history of the competition, over 170 artists from 25 states, Canada, and the Philippines have applied to participate. Almost 100 of these artists have traveled to New Iberia for the opportunity to spend a week painting Acadiana, helping to preserve our unique landscape and historic, urban, and rural viewscapes. Painting sales, the driving force behind the event and a clearer measure of success, increase each year with a grand total of $100,000 over the history of the event, providing support to the artists and the Shadows.
