Thank you for your interest in the ArtEast Plein Air Paint-out and Auction 2025 event, to take place June 28, 2025, rain or shine, in Pawling, NY.
Following are the fundamentals you will want to know.
This event is a collaborative fundraiser for the participating artists and the Friends Of the Great Swamp (FrOGS), a non-profit whose mission is to preserve and protect the health of the Great Swamp watershed through research, education and conservation. Nestled in the Harlem Valley and covering over 6,000 acres in New York’s eastern Putnam and Dutchess Counties, the Great Swamp Watershed is one of the largest freshwater wetlands in the state. Designated by the USDA Forest Service as a Highlands Conservation Focal Area and cited by the state Department of Environmental Conservation in a 2009 report for its unique habitat, diverse wildlife, scenic value, the Great Swamp’s critical function is as an aquifer recharge area.
Date/Times: Saturday, June 28, 2025, rain-or-shine.
- Check-in and canvas-stamping 7 am – noon at Lakeside Park
- Completed work, framed and ready for hanging, handed in by 4 pm at Lakeside Park
- Reception at 5 pm.
- Auction at 6 pm.
Prize:
A $200 ‘People’s Choice’ award will be awarded to one work created the day of the event.
Media:
Oil, acrylic, watercolor, marker, gouache, tempera, casein, pastel
Requirements:
- All participating artists must sign the liability waiver, linked below, as they check in on the day of the event.
- The first 35 artists to complete the registration form linked below, and pay the $35 registration fee (by check or electronically, see registration form link) will be accepted to the event.
- This year, two property-owners on historic Quaker Hill have granted permission for a limited number of artists to paint on their premises during this event. The Pawling Farmer’s Market has also given permission for a limited number of artists to paint at the market. These ‘by-permission’ sites are identified on the map and site descriptions linked below. To reserve your place at one of these, review the sites on the link below, and specify your first and second choices on the registration form linked below. These ‘by-permission’ sites are not mandatory; you are free to choose any site within the boundaries on the map (linked below), using standard plein air judgment as to safety and private property.
- All artwork must be done ‘en plein air’ during the event.
- All artwork submitted to the auction must be on stamped canvas or paper. All works must be framed and wired for hanging (no sawtooth hardware); if framing obscures the stamp, present the work to the check-in desk before framing. A table will be available for framing these.
- There is no limit to the number of substrata that may be stamped.
- Each artist can submit two works: one painted on the event day, and one additional work painted previously, or two painted on the event day. The ‘dry’ painting need not be of the Pawling/Patterson area. Only one work will be entered for the live auction, the second work will be sold via ‘silent auction’ at the reception.
- Previously toned canvases are permitted.
- Watercolor pads must have each paper stamped individually.
- All submitted work must be available for sale at auction
- Artists may paint any subject anywhere within the online boundary map, or in the Great Swamp vicinity. Artists are requested to hand out materials provided, to onlookers informing them of the evening’s auction.
Additional Artwork:
- Artists may bring one additional work, to be sold via ‘silent auction.’ See ‘requirements’ above.
Auction Rules:
- There will be no reserves. The auctioned price will be the price paid.
- The auctioneer has final say as to winning bidder and bid.
- The proceeds will be split between Arts Mid-Hudson, FrOGS and the artist, approximately 7%, 31% and 62% respectively. This year, Arts Mid-Hudson is passing along the processing fee charged by Zelle and Paypal on transactions done on their tablet at the auction. In these cases, the fee will be deducted from the 93% split between the artist and FrOGS, thereby reducing their percentages by about 2 and 1% respectively.
Find Out More About Painting Sites (some are limited to a handful of artists) and Boundaries:
Great Swamp map with access sites.
Pawling Plein Air boundaries map.
Descriptions and photos of sites.