Grand Traverse Paints brings 31 artists to Traverse City
Artists are painting Old Mission, Leelanau and downtown Traverse City for a weeklong contest with a top prize of $16,000.
Artists have turned Crooked Tree Arts Center and the greater Traverse City landscape into an open-air studio, painting along Old Mission Peninsula, Leelanau Peninsula, Sleeping Bear Dunes and downtown streets for the ninth annual Paint Grand Traverse. The weeklong plein-air competition runs through June 28 and is drawing nationally recognized painters, collectors and local viewers into one of Grand Traverse County’s most visible summer arts events.
Crooked Tree Arts Center says 32 artists are taking part this year, while a separate local television report counted 31, a small discrepancy that leaves the competition’s field in the low 30s. One-third of the participating painters are Michigan-based, and the roster includes Kevin Barton of Petoskey, Lori Feldpausch of Traverse City, Kristin Hosbein of St. Joseph, Debra Howard of Omena, Logan Hudson of Fife Lake, Mark Mehaffey of Empire, Thomas Moberg of Lansing, Julio Suarez of Jackson, Jill Stefani Wagner of Saline, David Westerfield of Grand Rapids and Adam VanHouten of Traverse City. Elizabeth Pollie of Harbor Springs is serving as awards juror.
The appeal is in the format as much as the prize money. Artists work on location and have to respond to changing light, weather and traffic instead of studio conditions, which means the shoreline, vineyards, neighborhoods and downtown blocks all become part of the finished work. The top cash prize can reach $16,000, a figure that helps explain why the event pulls talent from across the country and why local attention has grown with it.
Crooked Tree is also building the week around public access. Visitors can watch live painting demonstrations, attend workshops, stop by the Kids Pint-Sized Paint Out and take part in the Fresh Paint Party. The extended exhibition and online sales period will run from July 1 through August 22, giving buyers and casual visitors a longer window to see and purchase the finished pieces.
Founded in 1971, Crooked Tree Arts Center now serves northern Michigan through campuses in Petoskey and Traverse City. The center describes Paint Grand Traverse as a signature summer event that draws collectors from across the country, and Traverse City Tourism frames that kind of arts traffic as part of its broader mission to strengthen the region’s economic vitality by promoting the destination to leisure travelers and other visitors.
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