EnPleinAirTEXAS 2024

EnPleinAirTEXAS (EPAT) is one of the premier plein air painting competitions in the United States. The event takes place October 20–26, 2024, bringing nationally respected artists to Texas to experience the authentic West. Artists spend part of the week hosted on private ranches with painting inspiration, and time in San Angelo, the 'Visual Arts Capital of Texas'. San Angelo features an architecturally interesting downtown with an 1870s National Historic Register Fort, a river, lakes, trains, and the International Waterlily Collection. Events are scheduled throughout the week and include meals for artists.

Competition artists are hosted by ranchers and local residents who provide meals, lodging, and sometimes access to vehicles or kitchen facilities. All art painted during the week is for sale, with paintings displayed at the 'Wet Paint' Gallery/EPAT Headquarters during the week and exhibited at the final weekend event, "The STAMPEDE," on October 25–26. A 40% commission is paid to the museum with artists receiving 60% of sales price. Demos or Saturday Paint-Out artwork receive 75% commission to artists and 25% to the museum. Cash awards of over $30,000 and merchandise prizes will be awarded by 2024 Judge Kathryn Mapes Turner.

Applicants must be 18 years or older and submit 3–6 digital JPEGs of plein air paintings through CAFÉ with a $40 entry fee. Images should be at least 300 dpi resolution with file size under 4 MB. Two-dimensional mediums accepted include oil, watercolor, pastel, gouache, pencil, and charcoal. All artwork submitted must have been painted en plein air. Selected artists will be notified by email on June 14, 2024, and host housing will be assigned June–August.